Desperate Measures
by cleotheo
Summary: When the war against Voldemort drags on, what lengths will Hermione go to, to be with the man she loves? DM/HG.
1. Chapter 1

The cold night air whipped around Hermione Granger as she stood at the top of the Astronomy tower, shivering she wrapped her cloak tighter around her body. Standing looking out over the grounds of Hogwarts, Hermione heard the noise of the door opening behind her, without turning she greeted the person who had just appeared behind her.

"You're late."

"I know, I had problems getting away." The cool voice of Draco Malfoy drifted towards Hermione. "Pansy was been clingy."

Draco smirked as he heard Hermione's small growl at the mention of Pansy Parkinson, the Slytherin girl always annoyed the fiery Gryffindor, especially when she draped herself all over Draco.

Moving to stand directly behind the curly haired brunette witch, Draco wrapped his arms around Hermione and nuzzled into her neck.

"You could have told her to get lost." Hermione huffed.

Draco laughed lightly, "I've got to keep up appearances, we don't need anyone getting suspicious, especially now."

"I know, you're right." Hermione sighed, their relationship was dangerous enough without it becoming public knowledge.

They both stood silently looking at the view for nearly ten minutes before Hermione broke the comfortable silence.

"I need to go soon, Harry and Ron will be getting worried."

Draco nodded his head, "Yeah, so do I. I haven't got an excuse for being missing all night now I've fixed the vanishing cabinet."

Hermione turned in Draco's arms so she was facing her boyfriend. "Will I see you tomorrow?"

"I don't think so, not to talk to." Draco responded, stroking Hermione's face gently.

"I wish things were different." Hermione said sadly.

"So do I," Draco said, just as sadly. "But we've been talking about this all year, it's the only option."

Hermione knew he was right but it still didn't mean she wasn't upset about what was going to happen.

Draco and Hermione had spent all year trying to find a way out of Voldemort's service for Draco, but because he was threatening Narcissa's life it made it extremely difficult. Eventually they decided to confide in Draco's godfather, Severus Snape, as he was the only person aware of their relationship. Snape had revealed to Draco and Hermione both the unbreakable vow he had taken with Narcissa and Dumbledore's pending death. The three had eventually decided that Draco should appear loyal to Voldemort, but Snape would make sure he didn't have to kill Dumbledore himself. The hard part of their plan came next as they would be separated for an indeterminable amount of time. Draco would be in the Death Eaters camp while Hermione helped Harry find a way to defeat Voldemort.

"You should go first so no one sees us together." Draco reluctantly told his girlfriend.

Hermione nodded slightly, before reaching up and kissing Draco softly on the lips. Draco eagerly responded pulling Hermione closer to his body and tangling his hand in her hair. Draco reluctantly broke the kiss to speak.

"I love you, be careful tomorrow night."

"I love you too." Hermione whispered, slowly stepping out of the blond Slytherin's embrace.

Hermione walked towards the door, before she left she turned around to look at her boyfriend one last time.

"Draco, when you leave tomorrow night, make sure you stay alive." Seeing the blond's puzzled expression she continued. "I don't care what you have to do, do it. Just make sure you live. Promise me."

Draco stood still, digesting what Hermione had just said, she was aware what terrible things he might have to do to stay alive. "You do know what you're saying don't you?" Hermione simply nodded.

"Fine, I promise, I'll do whatever to survive. But I also promise if you can't handle it, I'll let you go without a fight." Draco finally conceded to his stubborn girlfriend, knowing the reality of what she was saying might be too hard for her to handle.

Hermione smiled sadly at Draco. "Nothing you'll do will ever change how I feel about you."

Hermione then turned and left the astronomy tower, leaving Draco alone with her parting words and the promise she had made him give running through his head.

Draco turned and looked out at the school grounds, in twenty four hours his life would change forever, he would always be known as the boy who let Death Eaters into Hogwarts. For the first time since him and Hermione discussed the plan for the future, Draco doubted it's success, even if Potter killed The Dark Lord he would still be considered one of his followers and would probably be sent to Azkaban if he wasn't killed first.

Sighing, Draco left the Astronomy Tower and headed down to the dungeons for one final night at Hogwarts.

* * *

**A/N - this is my first story and I would appreciate all feedback on how to improve.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Five Years Later.**

"'Mione, the meeting's about to begin." The voice of Harry Potter calling up the stairs of Grimmauld Place jolted Hermione out of her thoughts.

She was sitting on the bed staring at her necklace, in the room she shared with Ginny when she stayed at The Order's headquarters. After the first year of searching unsuccessfully for Horcrux's, Hermione had persuaded Harry they would be better off returning to the Order full time and asking the others for help. After weeks of arguing, Harry finally relented and reluctantly returned to Grimmauld Place.

"Coming." She shouted back to Harry, placing her silver heart necklace back under her top where it couldn't be seen. The necklace was a gift from Draco and it would change colour to emerald green when he was able to meet, something it hadn't done in over a month.

Pushing thoughts of her boyfriend from her mind she went down to the kitchen to join the meeting. Entering the room, Hermione greeted people as she made her way to her seat next to Harry. The room was quite full and there was a few people standing against the wall, Order meetings varied on size depending who was available to attend at the time. From the looks of the crowd it was mainly the younger members of The Order in attendance, the only older people looked to be Remus Lupin and his wife Nymphadora Tonks. Hermione tuned out as Harry began the meeting with a brief overview of progress made in the last few weeks, despite Harry dressing it up to sound better than it was Hermione knew there was no progress to report. Hermione was pulled from her thoughts when Harry asked her a question.

"Sorry, Harry. What did you say?"

"I was asking if there was any more progress on the remaining Horcrux's." Harry said looking annoyed that Hermione wasn't paying attention.

"No, there's still no sign of Hufflepuff's cup, we still don't know how to get into Hogwarts to the diadem and we still don't have a clue on the identity of the last one." Hermione shrugged, since Dumbledore's death they had only managed to destroy one Horcrux, Slytherin's locket.

Harry sighed and turned to Fred and George Weasley. "What about Hogwarts, any new information on how we get inside."

"No," Fred shook his head. "We watched the school for a month, there's no regular pattern to the patrol's or the shift changes."

"How about security?" Harry questioned.

"There's all the extra protective spells Hermione detected and the Death Eaters on the gates question most people thoroughly before letting them inside the grounds." George replied.

"What do you mean they question most people?" Ron asked his brothers.

"The Death Eaters usually question every person for a few minutes," Fred explained. "Except one, they let him through without a word."

"Who?" Dean Thomas asked from further down the table.

"Malfoy." Fred replied sneering at the name, the answer wasn't a surprise to many in the room as most were aware of how high ranked amongst the Death Eaters Malfoy had become.

"Keep up the surveillance. We need to get into Hogwarts and destroy that Diadem, along with the scum that run the place now." Harry said, making a thinly veiled reference to the headmaster of the school, Severus Snape.

Harry continued the meeting asking Remus about his investigations into the rumours Voldemort had taken control of the Russian Ministry of Magic.

"The Russian's are very secretive by nature," Remus began. "But all the whispers seem to indicate the rumours are slightly premature. He's been seen in the country and been seen in the presence of the Russian Minister, but as far as we can tell he doesn't have control yet."

"But it's only a matter of time, he's been concentrating on Russia for months now." Remus' wife Tonks piped up. "It would give him a lot more power to have Russia in his control."

Harry nodded, agreeing with Tonks. Hermione tuned out again as the talk turned to recent attacks, Harry's new initiative was taking the fight to the Death Eaters and had arranged raids on rumoured safe houses and on people who were rumoured to be involved with Voldemort. Hermione had refused to take part in any of the raids on the principal that all the information they acted on was rumours and not facts, they could be attacking innocent people.

"Since we have a few of the more recent additions to the cause here today, I thought we could go over the list of most wanted Death Eaters." Harry's voice brought Hermione's attention back to the meeting. "Obviously Voldemort himself is number one, but we can't get him until we destroy his Horcrux's, so we'll not discuss him."

Hermione prepared herself to speak, doing the most wanted had become her regular job, as expected Harry turned to her and motioned for her to start. Hermione flipped open the file before her, she had arranged the photos Harry liked to distribute in order from 5th to 2nd on the list. Hermione picked up the first photo and without glancing at it handed it to Harry and began to speak.

"Number five on the list is Lucius Malfoy. He provides most of the financial support for Voldemort and attracts the older pureblood's to their cause. His family house, Malfoy Manor is used as Headquarters to Voldemort and his Death Eaters but it is the most protected building in the country. Chances of catching him are slim, he rarely participates in public attacks by the Death Eaters, preferring to stay behind the scenes these days."

Hermione paused while Harry passed the photo around the room, she noticed most of the people who had been part of the Order for years barely glanced at the picture having seen it numerous times before. Harry beckoned for Hermione to hand him the next photo, which she did before she continued.

"Number Four, Bellatrix Lestrange, the most high profile female Death Eater. She is pretty unstable mentally, but she is a formidable fighter and is particularly fond of using the Cruciatius curse." Hermione gave Neville Longbottom a small smile as he looked sadly at the reminder of what Bellatrix did to people, his parents being two of her victims.

"She very rarely wears her mask making her easy to spot in a fight, but it is hard to get near her. She spends most of her time with Voldemort himself." Hermione finished.

Hermione glanced at the third photo before she handed it to Harry, looking up at her was a man she hadn't seen in five years but a man she still thought of with great fondness. Hermione saw Harry's eyes harden as he looked at the picture, sighing Hermione continued.

"Number three on the list, Severus Snape. For years it was believed Snape was a spy for the Order but five years ago he killed Albus Dumbledore. Since then he has taken over as Headmaster of Hogwarts and as such rarely leaves the school grounds except during holidays. Because of this fact he is going to be incredibly difficult to apprehend." Hermione paused wondering if Harry was going to add anything, sometimes he ranted about what Snape had done on the Astronomy Tower and the injustice of him going unpunished.

When Harry kept quiet Hermione flipped the final photo over looking at an old picture of the love of her life. Hermione studied the picture silently, steeling herself to give her next speech, before handing it over to Harry.

"The second most wanted is Draco Malfoy, Voldemort's second in command. After his involvement in Dumbledore's death and the attack on Hogwarts he disappeared for over a year, when he reappeared he was leading the attacks. Since then he has emerged as one of Voldemort's most deadly Death Eaters, risen to be his right hand man and recent rumours suggest he is Voldemort's heir and successor." Hermione paused briefly, needing to make sure her emotions were in check. Once she was sure she wouldn't betray her real feelings she continued.

"Unlike other Death Eaters, Malfoy doesn't have one unique mask he has several and sometimes wears other peoples, making him hard to identify in battle. Usually the only time you know he's been involved in the fight is right before he leaves when he takes off his mask, the few times it's been discovered he's present before the end of the battle he always makes a hasty retreat once he is aware his identity is known." Hermione finished her talk, wondering what the Order would say if she told them the reason he always revealed himself after a fight was to reassure her he was still alive.

As the last photo was being passed around the room Harry decided to make his own contribution to the talk.

"After Voldemort, these four are the most despicable of his follower's. Every effort should be made to extinguish the threat they pose to the world. All of them, especially Snape and Malfoy, should be killed on sight – the nastier the better."

Hermione dipped her head so no one could see how distressed she was at the thought of Draco being killed.

While her head was bent Hermione noticed a green glow under her top, her necklace had changed colour. Relief flooded through Hermione at the sight and she sat impatiently waiting for Harry to wrap up the meeting. Five minutes later he did just that and Hermione quickly stood up.

"Mione are you staying?" Hermione looked up to find Ron staring longingly at her, for the past year she had been subtly trying to avoid his romantic gestures.

"Sorry, Ron. I'm tired and I've got some more research to do, so I'm just going to head home." Hermione said, wondering if the time was coming she would have to be more forceful with refusing Ron's attention.

"What research?" Harry asked, breaking away from his conversation with Remus.

"Just more research into Voldemort's past, looking for any clue on the final Horcrux or potential hiding places." Hermione smoothly lied, she had no intention of looking at any books tonight.

Harry nodded and turned back to Remus, Hermione quickly bid the remaining members goodbye and after successfully avoiding Ron's hug she left the kitchen.

Once in the hallway she pulled out her necklace, it was now a green heart. Holding it in her palm she closed her eyes and concentrated, she felt a flash of energy pass through her hand into the necklace and knew her message had been sent. Her necklace was connected with a charm to a Gold dragon Draco wore round his neck, his dragon would turn red when she requested a meeting or agreed to a meeting. Tucking the now silver heart back into her top Hermione quickly gathered her coat and bag and left Grimmauld Place. Once outside Hermione immediately apparated away from the headquarters of The Order of the Phoenix, to her Death Eater lover.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N - This chapter contains a sex scene, the first one I've done so I apologise if it isn't very good.**

* * *

Draco Malfoy entered his bedroom at the Manor wearing only a towel, his pale blond hair dripping water down his face and neck. Glancing at his bedside table he noticed the gold dragon he wore round his neck was a violent shade of ruby red. Grinning he quickly dried himself, leaving his hair damp and threw on some black trousers and a grey shirt. He picked up the dragon and slid it over his head, the charm warm against his skin. He checked his wards on his wing of the manor, and satisfied no one could enter he apparated away, thoughts of Hermione filling his head.

It had been over a month since he had seen his girlfriend, for the last three weeks he had been in Russia with The Dark Lord on business. As soon as he got home and was reassured by Voldemort he wouldn't be needed anytime soon he quickly sent a message to Hermione and went for a shower while he waited to see if she was able to meet.

Draco landed on an beach on his own personal Italian island in front of a huge villa, the sun was just setting for the night and he could feel the warmth in the Mediterranean air. Quickly he walked up to the house, entering via the patio doors. Draco pulled his shoes off and placed them beside the door next to a pair of brown boots belonging to his girlfriend. Walking quickly he entered the master bedroom and found his girlfriend looking out the window at the sea.

Hermione turned around sensing a presence and upon seeing Draco launched herself across the room, throwing herself into his arms and wrapping her legs around his waist.

"I've missed you so much." Hermione exclaimed as she kissed his face.

"I've missed you too, baby." Draco responded, hugging Hermione close to him.

Draco was still surprised when Hermione greeted him so enthusiastically, he was still half expecting her to reject him for fully joining Voldemort nearly four years ago. For fifteen months he had avoided fully joining The Dark Lord but eventually Voldemort had come to him and told him he was to lead an attack, if he failed he would be punished severely and his mother killed. Left with no choice Draco did as he was told and quickly became Voldemort's favourite Death Eater. Draco had been nervous about meeting Hermione after that, but she kept her word and didn't leave him or blame him for doing what he had to do. As the years passed and he continued to rise in power among the Death Eaters he fully expected the time would come when Hermione would end their relationship but so far she hadn't, a fact Draco was extremely relieved about.

Draco manoeuvred himself and Hermione towards the bed and collapsed onto it, the pair of them landing in a mass of limbs tangled together. Untangling themselves, Draco moved so he was lying on the bed with Hermione lying on top of him. Reaching up he brushed a curl out of Hermione's face and pulled her into a searing kiss.

One of Hermione's hands made its way under Draco's shirt to caress his muscles while the other tangled in his still damp hair. Draco broke the kiss and started kissing Hermione's jaw and then began trailing his lips down her neck, while his hand unfastened the buttons on Hermione's top. Hermione sat up and quickly removed her top revealing the green bra she was wearing.

Draco reached up and played with Hermione's necklace, which was nestled between her breasts. Moving his hands around to her back he quickly undid her bra and pulled it off her body, revealing her firm breasts to his eyes. Flashing Hermione a grin, Draco reached his hand out and started to fondle her breasts, teasing the nipples with his thumb. Hermione moaned and threw her head back, revelling in the sensations Draco's hands were causing. Draco slowly slid one hand down her stomach and reaching her jeans he rubbed her centre through the rough material.

Hermione bucked her hips at the action, aching for Draco to touch her naked flesh. Hermione opened her eyes to look at Draco, he seemed content lying beneath her playing with her breasts and looked in no hurry to remove the rest of her clothes. Hermione decided to speed thing up and unbuttoned her jeans, watching Draco for a reaction she moved off him and slid the denim material down her legs and kicked them off the bed. Hermione smiled when she saw Draco frown as she moved off him, but she noticed his eyes lit up when he saw she was removing her jeans.

Draco watched as Hermione stripped off, leaving her in only her green knickers, he was enjoying seeing how much Hermione wanted him. Draco sat up slightly on the bed, propping the pillows behind him and waited for his girlfriend's next move. Draco only smirked at his girlfriend's raised eyebrow as she wondered why he wasn't participating.

Hermione began to remove her soaked knickers, making sure she spread her legs wider than necessary giving Draco a perfect view of her glistening folds. Hermione saw the lust flair in his grey eyes and casually observed his growing erection becoming more evident through his trousers. Hermione straddled Draco again and went to move herself over his rapidly growing erection when firm hands grabbed her hips stopping her moving.

"Did anyone ever tell you, you were a tease, Granger." Draco hissed, flipping the brunette over so she was lying flat on her back while he hovered over her.

"I thought I'd show some initiative since you'd clearly forgotten how to undress me." Hermione smirked up at her boyfriend.

"It's called taking your time." He snapped back.

"How about we take our time later." Hermione pouted. "I haven't seen you in over a month, I've missed you."

"I missed you too, baby." Draco responded, dipping his head for a soft kiss. "But you now have to pay for being a tease." He finished with a wicked grin.

Draco then proceeded to kiss his way down her body, stopping at her breasts and giving them his full attention for a few minutes. When he moved on down her stomach, Hermione felt herself becoming more aroused as he headed for the wetness between her legs. However when Draco reached her pelvis he kissed her hip and started kissing down her left leg all the way to her ankle, as he made his way back up her leg Hermione unconsciously spread her legs wider in anticipation. Draco however teased her again as when he reached the top of her left leg he passed over her dripping centre and repeated the action with her right leg. By the time he returned to the top of her right leg Hermione was extremely frustrated.

"For god's Draco, just do it already." Hermione moaned, getting annoyed.

"Do what?" Draco asked, looking at her in mock innocence.

"You know what." Hermione growled, as Draco just continued to look at her. "For fuck's sake, touch me."

Draco gently stroked her inner thigh. "I am." He smirked, kissing her inner thigh lightly.

"Please, Draco. I'm begging." Hermione cried, trying to thrust her hips towards her boyfriend.

Seeing her desperation, Draco gave in and slowly licked his girlfriend's dripping centre, causing Hermione to buck her hips. Draco held her hips down as he went to work licking and sucking at Hermione, from the way she was writhing and moaning beneath him she wouldn't last long. Draco removed one of his hands from Hermione's hips and started thrusting two fingers into her wet heat.

"Oh, fuck. I'm close." Hermione moaned as Draco moved his fingers faster inside her and swirled his tongue around her sensitive clit.

"Cum for me, baby." Draco ordered Hermione, causing her to break apart as her orgasm washed over her, shaking her entire body.

Draco moved to lie beside Hermione as she recovered from her orgasm, when she did she turned to see her gorgeous blond boyfriend propped up on his elbow looking at her.

"How come I'm naked and you're still fully clothed." Hermione questioned Draco, tugging at his shirt buttons.

"Because you look better naked." Draco replied with a smile.

"Personally, I prefer you naked." Hermione purred.

"Naturally, I am pretty amazing."

Hermione laughed softly. "Such an ego." She teased playfully. "Although you are right. You're amazing."

"You're pretty amazing yourself." Draco responded, pulling Hermione close for a kiss.

Hermione quickly broke the kiss and glared at her boyfriend. "Stop distracting me and get your clothes off."

"Bossy aren't we." Draco said standing up and unbuttoning his grey shirt.

"Yes, I am." Hermione nodded. "And don't pretend you don't like it."

Draco chuckled and continued to undress, it was true he loved it when Hermione bossed him around in the bedroom. Draco quickly finished undressing revealing his toned body and impressive erection.

Hermione licked her lips at the sight of her naked boyfriend. "Come here now."

"Yes, miss." Draco smirked climbing back on the bed beside Hermione.

Hermione pulled Draco towards her and gave him a kiss, their tongue's dancing around each other's. While they were kissing Hermione reached down and began stroking Draco's erection.

"Fuck, baby. I won't last if you keep that up." Draco moaned into her ear after a few strokes.

"We can't have that now." Hermione purred in his ear, rubbing herself against him. "I want you to cum inside me."

Draco groaned loudly as Hermione pressed her curves against his body. Draco kissed her passionately before moving Hermione onto her back and positioning himself at her entrance.

"I love you." He told her before thrusting into her wet centre.

Both parties moaned loudly at the feeling of being joined after so long apart. Draco stilled momentarily to make sure he didn't cum straight away, when he was satisfied he would last he started moving. Hermione was well aware Draco wouldn't last long after so long apart, it wouldn't take much to make her cum again too, Draco could always make her cum embarrassingly quick.

Hermione pulled Draco's head up to give him a kiss as their bodies moved expertly in sync with each other's. A short while later Draco trailed his hand in-between him and Hermione to play with her clit, it was the quickest way to get her off and his own orgasm was fast approaching. Hermione dug her nails into Draco's back as he rubbed the sensitive bundle in-between her legs, the action getting faster all the time.

Hermione felt her orgasm approaching and with a final swirl of Draco's thumb on her clit she came apart, screaming Draco's name.

"Fuck, Hermione." Draco moaned, as her orgasm triggered his own causing him to release his seed deep in Hermione's quivering body.

Draco collapsed on top of Hermione still buried inside her, making sure not to rest too much of his weight on top of her petite frame. Eventually Draco rolled off Hermione and lay down, turning on his side he reached out and pulled Hermione towards his body wrapping his arms around her. Snuggled together the lovers fell asleep, the last words Draco heard was Hermione telling him she loved him.


	4. Chapter 4

Hermione awoke first the following morning, feeling safe and happy wrapped securely in Draco's arms. Hermione lay for a while watching Draco sleep peacefully, the urge to touch him became overwhelming though and she reached out and slowly caressed his face bringing him out of his sleep.

Slowly Draco opened his eyes to find Hermione watching him, he smiled lazily at the beautiful brunette witch in his bed. Draco pulled Hermione to him for a quick kiss before he got out of the large bed.

"Where are you going?" Hermione pouted, wrapping the sheet around her body.

"To the bathroom, then I was going to make breakfast if you want some." He replied with a smirk as he entered the bathroom.

Hermione waited till he had returned and pulled his boxers on before she went into the bathroom herself. Returning to the bedroom she found Draco's shirt and slipped it on before heading downstairs to the kitchen.

The kitchen in the villa was a large room painted in a cheerful yellow, with a large window leading out onto a terrace which overlooked the swimming pool. Hermione entered the room to find Draco at the stove waving his wand about preparing breakfast, with a final swish of his wrist the food and drink landed on the table on the patio. Draco turned round to see Hermione standing in the doorway wearing his grey shirt.

"You look incredibly sexy in my clothes." He said, raising an eyebrow suggestively.

"Thanks." Hermione replied strolling past him towards the food. "Breakfast looks good."

"Don't I get a good morning kiss, then." He asked, grabbing her wrist and pulling her into his body.

Hermione smiled up at her boyfriend. "You had one this morning in bed."

"That was a peck, I mean a real kiss." He replied, leaning down and giving Hermione a passionate kiss.

Hermione reacted by throwing her arms around Draco and tangling her hands in his silky soft hair. Draco's hands roamed down Hermione's back and under his shirt, the fact she was naked underneath produced a moan from Draco.

"No knickers, you naughty girl." He purred in her ear.

"It seemed pointless, considering they would only be coming off again after breakfast." Hermione grinned, pulling Draco out onto the terrace for breakfast.

After breakfast the couple headed back into the bedroom where Hermione proved that there had been no point in underwear as it would have only gotten in the way of their fun.

* * *

"I can't wait till we can do this every day." Hermione sighed, she was lying next to Draco in their large bed, spent from their morning activities.

Wrapped in his arms she felt him tense at her words so tuned to look at him. Hermione was surprised to see the stoic Malfoy expression on his face, the one where it was impossible to tell what he was thinking. She was shocked because ever since they started dating back in fourth year he never wore that expression while alone with her, he always let her see his real feelings.

"What's wrong?" She questioned, terrified he was going to end their relationship.

"Nothing." He replied, shaking his head and attempting to smile.

"Liar." Hermione stated, sitting up in bed, she knew him well enough to know there was a problem. "Are you going to break up with me?"

"No, what on earth makes you think that." Draco replied angrily, sitting up himself.

"You didn't seem happy when I mentioned being together permanently." Hermione shrugged, looking down at the silk covers of the bed.

Draco put his hand on Hermione's face and forced her to look at him. "I love you more than anything, and there's nothing I want more than to spend the rest of my life with you."

"Then what's the problem?" Hermione asked, seeing the sadness in Draco's eyes.

"I just don't see how it can happen. I don't know how we will ever be able to be like this forever." Draco replied, looking at the Dark Mark that marred his pale skin.

"But we talked about this before." Hermione said shaking her head.

"Come here." He said as he pulled Hermione to him and settled her between his legs, her back pressed up against his chest.

"We talked about this five years ago, it was different then." Draco sighed.

"How, what's changed?" Hermione asked, fiddling with Draco's fingers.

"I've done too much as a Death Eater. Years ago I could have admitted he was threatening my mother's life but he hasn't done so for years." Draco said quietly, trying to make Hermione understand. "If Potter kills The Dark Lord, I'll go straight to Azkaban."

"But he still threatened her, that's how he forced you to get involved. That's got to count for something." Hermione protested.

Draco shook his head. "It won't count for everything I've done over the last three years. It's not like when he was keeping her guarded to keep me in line, she's free to come and go as she likes, the Order knows that and will argue I could have stopped without her suffering anytime since then."

Hermione sat quietly for a moment before speaking again. "Even if you're right. I can still persuade Harry you shouldn't be in prison."

Draco chuckled humourlessly behind Hermione. "Potter hates me, you said yourself he holds me personally responsible for Dumbledore's death. Nothing you can say will stop him, if he ever found out about us he would probably make sure I never saw you again."

Hermione sat silently slowly realising Draco was right. "What do we do?" She finally whispered, fighting back the tears.

Draco turned Hermione round to face him, gently he brushed away a stray tear that was running down her cheek.

"We make the most of the time we do have." He replied, leaning in to gently kiss her.

Hermione buried her head in Draco's neck as he rubbed her back, comforting her. They sat wrapped around each other for some time before a burning in Draco's left arm distracted him.

"Shit, I have to go." He told Hermione, looking down at his vivid mark.

Hermione scrambled off Draco and watched as he hurriedly dressed and summoned his shoes. When he was finished he leant over the bed where Hermione was still sitting and gave her a passionate kiss.

"Be careful." She whispered, clinging onto her boyfriend.

"I always am." Draco replied, detaching himself from Hermione. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Hermione replied before Draco apparated away.

Hermione remained curled in their bed, wrapped in the covers which was covered with Draco's scent, for most of the afternoon. When Hermione finally left the bed she quickly dressed and tidied around the villa before rechecking the wards on the island. Satisfied they were all in place she sadly apparated home to find a solution to her and Draco's problem regarding their relationship.

* * *

Hermione had only been home long enough to shower and change before she heard the floo network in her front room sound. Leaving her bedroom and walking into her sitting room she found the familiar red head of her best friend standing in front of her fire.

"Hey 'Mione, where have you been? I've been trying to get through all afternoon." Ron greeted Hermione.

"Nowhere, I just slept late and only just activated the wards." Hermione shrugged, the lie falling easy from her lips. "Is there a problem?"

Ron shook his head and sat on the large chair beside the fire. "No, I just thought I would come and see you."

Hermione sighed, the last thing she wanted to deal with was Ron. "You know Ron, I don't feel so good maybe I could call at Grimmauld Place tomorrow to catch up with you and Harry."

Hermione had deliberately included Harry in the hope Ron wouldn't think she was encouraging his romantic overtures.

"Sure," Ron sighed sadly, standing up. "Call if you need anything."

Before Hermione could react she was enveloped in Ron's arms as he gave her a suffocating hug. Wriggling free Hermione smiled weakly at Ron and moved out of his reach.

"Bye, Ron."

"Bye." Ron called as he entered the fireplace, looking back sadly at Hermione as he Flooed away.

After Ron's exit Hermione quickly put her wards up so no one could enter her flat through magical means. Hermione picked Crookshanks up from where he was sleeping on the sofa and sat down placing the ginger cat on her lap. Snuggling up with Crookshanks, Hermione replayed the conversation she had with Draco earlier in the day, trying to find a way around their problem.


	5. Chapter 5

The Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Severus Snape, stood on top of the Astronomy Tower surveying the grounds of the school, reliving old memories. Closing his eyes he saw the night five years ago when he had killed Albus Dumbledore, even though he was doing it to save Draco and Albus had made him vow to do the deed it didn't make the memories any easier to deal with.

Opening his eyes he looked down and saw the blond head of his godson walking through the grounds towards the school, smiling slightly at the thought of seeing Draco he turned and left the tower his black cloak billowing behind him.

Walking through the school Severus found himself looking forward to seeing Draco, he had recently been in Russia with the Dark Lord and apart from a brief hello on his return three weeks ago he hadn't seen him since. Severus stopped at the top of the stairs leading down into the entrance hall and watched as his godson sneered and sniped at the two Death Eaters standing at the front doors.

"Draco, let's go to my office." He called down the stairs. Recognising the blond was in a bad mood, he decided it was wise to get him away from people he could insult.

Draco aimed one last glare towards the two men at the door and headed up the stairs towards his godfather.

"Severus, good to see you." He greeted the older Slytherin.

* * *

The two men walked in silence to Severus' office, only speaking when they were settled in the circular office and Severus had dismissed the portraits of the previous headmasters that lined the walls. Severus wanted to know what was bothering the young man but decided he might speak more openly after they had discussed business.

"What brings you here today? I wasn't expecting you to next week." Severus said.

"I haven't seen you in a while and was at a loose end this afternoon so I thought I'd come early to catch up on what I've missed." Draco responded, not revealing his real reasons for visiting his godfather just yet.

Severus nodded, his godson clearly had an ulterior motive in coming early, he would mention it when he was ready.

"Everything's the same except The Order has been watching the school again."

"How long for?" Draco questioned, The Order would regularly watch the school trying to figure out how to enter the property.

"About two months, give or take a few days." Severus shrugged.

"They're serious this time, they never normally stay longer than a few weeks." Draco mused. "Whatever they want, Potter is getting desperate."

Severus shook his head. "What makes you think he wants anything? Maybe the Order just wants control of the school?" Since Voldemort had taken control of the school it only admitted Pureblood and Half-bloods, Muggleborns were no longer welcome.

"No, they haven't tried to gain control of the Ministry, that would be more beneficial to them." Draco responded, getting off his seat and pacing the floor. "Potter wants something that's in this school."

Severus watched as his godson paced in front of his desk, he was clearly trying to work out Potter's motivation's and what to do next. Severus noted that despite Draco's best efforts he had turned into a very efficient and powerful Death Eater, and despite his protests he actually enjoyed a lot of what he was required to do. Severus mused that the reason he probably enjoyed what he did was because he spent most of his time planning and organising raids and protection for The Dark Lord, only participating in the actual fighting when necessary.

"I'll keep you informed if anything changes." Severus said. "Now how about you sit down and tell me why you're really here."

Draco reluctantly sat and wondered how to begin, Severus however made things easier on him.

"Have you and Hermione had a fight?"

Draco shook his head. "Not exactly. I pointed out we had no realistic chance of a future together and things have been awkward between us since."

Severus sighed. "Surely she already knew that, she's not an idiot."

"I think she just didn't want to admit it to herself." Draco exclaimed running his hand through his white blond hair. "What if I've ruined things by bringing it up."

Severus remained quiet for several minutes, romantic relationships were hardly his expertise but he knew Draco and Hermione's relationship was the real deal.

"Perhaps you should talk to her the next time you meet up." Severus offered eventually. "If the pair of you can survive these last five years, I'm sure you can work this out."

Draco looked up at his godfather, grateful for the advice. He was the only person in his life that knew about Hermione and it was a relief to be able to talk about her to him.

"Thank you, Severus." Draco said, standing to leave. "Are you coming for dinner this weekend?"

"Yes I'll be there." Severus replied, standing also. "And Draco you can always come and talk to me."

Draco nodded at his godfather and left the office leaving the older man to sit back at his desk where he noticed an envelope with his name on sitting on top of his afternoon's paperwork. Intrigued Severus opened the letter and started to read his eyes widening as he realised who it was from.

* * *

_Dear Severus,_

_I know we haven't seen each other for a long time, but I desperately need to see you._

_If you can meet me, I have enclosed a Galleon, it is a portkey that will activate at 2 pm on Sunday._

_I hope to see you then, if not stay safe._

_Love HG._

* * *

Severus read the letter three times as he turned the galleon over in his large hands. It couldn't be a coincidence, he hadn't heard from his godson's girlfriend in nearly five years and just when Draco mentions the problems they've been having she writes to him, the two things must be related.

Severus knew he would attend the meeting with Hermione, she had piqued his curiosity with her bravery in sending a letter that if it were intercepted would cause major trouble for the pair of them. Setting the galleon in his desk drawer where it would be safe, he hoped she wasn't going to give him bad news regarding Draco, his godson was tough but it would destroy him if Hermione ended their relationship.

When Severus had discovered Draco and Hermione's relationship in their fifth year he had been surprised but hopeful that being in a relationship with a Muggleborn would mean that Draco could avoid following The Dark Lord. Unfortunately after the fiasco at The Ministry in which Lucius was captured, Draco was left with little choice but to join the dark side. Severus watched fascinated in the pairs sixth year when Hermione refused to abandon Draco and stood by him through everything. Severus knew he witnessing true love when he saw the two together and his heart broke at the thought of what they would have to suffer.

Standing up Severus walked towards the fire and burnt the letter Hermione had sent him, there was no need to leave evidence lying around that he was in touch with a member of The Order of the Phoenix. Staring into the flames, Severus was lost in thought until a polite cough disturbed him.

"Albus, how long have you been there?" He asked, turning to the portrait of the man he had killed.

"Long enough, Severus." Dumbledore replied, stroking his long beard.

"I don't suppose you know what that is about." Severus said, gesturing to the burning letter. "You know most things."

Dumbledore chuckled. "I don't know everything, Severus. However I do know Miss Granger and I'd dare like to bet she's found a way for her and Mr Malfoy to be together."

Severus sighed and returned to his desk. "I would like to think so, but I don't think it's possible."

"Everything's possible, if you want it enough." Dumbledore replied before shuffling off, leaving his gold picture frame empty.


	6. Chapter 6

Hermione paced the floor, looking at her watch for the tenth time in the last few minutes, it was three minutes to two. Three minutes until the port key arrived and hopefully with it Severus Snape and reassurance her plan would work. Hermione continued to pace until she heard a faint noise behind her and turned in time to see Severus Snape appear in the middle of the living room floor.

"Severus." Hermione cried running to the man and embracing him. Warily Severus returned the hug, not used to physical contact with the former Gryffindor.

"Sorry," Hermione said pulling back. "I'm just pleased to see you."

"It's nice to see you too." Severus said, looking around the large airy room in which he had landed. "Where are we? If you don't mind me asking."

"I don't mind you asking." Hermione smiled. "We're in Italy, on a private island. Draco owns it."

"Typical." Severus snorted. "Trust Draco to buy an island instead of just a house."

"You know Draco," Hermione replied, laughing. "Should we sit."

Severus sat down on a large chair while Hermione perched on the sofa opposite him. After refusing refreshments, Severus waited for Hermione to begin.

"I suppose you're wondering why I asked you here." She began slowly.

"It had crossed my mind, yes." Severus drawled.

Fixing him with a glare, Hermione continued. "I don't know if you've seen Draco recently or spoken to him, but a few weeks ago he made me aware of a problem I'd been blind to."

"I know what you're talking about, Draco confided in me earlier in the week." Snape interrupted, saving Hermione from having to explain the whole dilemma.

"Well, I've been trying to think of a way to fix things."

"Of course you have, you're Hermione Granger that's what you do fix things."

Hermione smiled at her former professor. "Well first I thought we could just disappear, one time when we're here just never return."

Hermione could see the scepticism written on Severus' face. "I know it wouldn't work. Voldemort wouldn't just let Draco walk away from him." She sighed.

Unsure whether she was still contemplating the rash idea Severus decided it would be best to set her straight.

"Your right, he wouldn't just allow Draco to leave. I don't know how much you know about the Mark he gives his Death Eaters."

"Not Much, other that it's how he calls them to him." Hermione shrugged.

"The mark is personally controlled by The Dark Lord himself, he decides how much it will burn when he calls someone. He can also make it burn so bad a person can lose their arm, I've witnessed that event myself, unfortunately." Severus quietly said, waiting for the implications of what he was saying to get through to Hermione, it didn't take long.

"You mean, if Draco was to abandon him he could use the mark to torture him and possibly kill him." Hermione said.

Severus nodded. "That's why it's a rarity for a Death Eater to turn, they know the mark can still be used to silence them."

"It's a good job I made another plan then isn't it." Hermione joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Suddenly turning serious again she continued. "Draco thinks if Harry kills Voldemort, he'll end up in Azkaban for life. He won't, Harry will kill him, he hates him and blames him for Dumbledore's death."

Severus opened his mouth to interrupt but Hermione shook her head and continued to speak.

"If the light wins, I lose the one person I love more than anything. I've already lost my parents, they have no memory of me and I don't want to lose Draco."

Hermione had obliviated her parents after sixth year to keep them safe, and knew after five years the chances of successfully undoing the spell were slim and could easily result in the permanent loss of her parent's minds.

"What do you propose then? No offense but if Voldemort wins you'll be in no better position." Severus asked, curious as to where Hermione was leading.

Hermione nodded. "I know, however I plan on asking to join the Death Eaters."

"WHAT? Are you crazy? That's your plan." Severus exploded, jumping off his seat. "You don't even believe in what he stands for?"

"Neither do you or Draco." Hermione patiently explained. "Now if you would sit down, I could tell you everything."

Severus reluctantly sat down again, looking at Hermione and wondering how serious she was. From the determined look on her face, very.

"I know my blood status will be the biggest hurdle, and we can't pretend I'm anything but Muggleborn. But I'm hoping the fact that I'm clever and have vital information on the Order can out way that. We both know without inside information he can't touch Harry or the Order."

"True. The Dark Lord has been trying unsuccessfully for years to get to Potter." Severus said cautiously, he was beginning to think her plan had some merit. "But would you really be able to give him information knowing it would lead to the capture or death of your friends?"

"I've been thinking about this for weeks." Hermione said solemnly. "Basically the choice is a simple one, Draco or my friends. I can live without my friends but I can't live without Draco."

"Have you considered convincing Draco to turn to the Order, he knows enough about The Dark Lord to help bring him down?" Severus asked, not entirely convinced that it would be safe for Draco to turn to the light.

"Yes, I thought about it." Hermione sighed. "But Draco has more to lose than me, his parents, his aunt and you. Beside, Harry wouldn't accept Draco's help, he would rather let Voldemort survive then have anything to do with Draco, he really hates him."

"He hates him enough, to let this war continue?" Severus replied, sceptically.

"Yes, he might have accepted Draco years ago but too much has happened, he's done too much." Hermione shook her head sadly. "You haven't seen Harry lately, he's so consumed by hate for Draco and you, I sometimes think he's forgotten who he's supposed to be trying to defeat. He's more interested in avenging Dumbledore's death."

"So, Draco defecting is not an option." Severus asked, secretly relieved, as any defection from Draco would probably result in his capture or death.

"No, that's why I'm going to do it."

"As long as you know, it's not easy to live with the fact you've betrayed people you care about." Severus warned,.

"Maybe, but surely it's worse to betray someone you love." Hermione said pointedly, referring to Severus' past with Lily Potter. "And if I help Harry win, I'd be sentencing Draco to death."

Severus looked briefly wounded by the veiled reference to his former love but quickly hid it and concentrated on the present.

"Besides," Hermione continued. "It won't be as hard as it would have been a few years ago. I'm finding myself increasingly isolated from the Order as I disagree with the way they do things more and more."

Severus sat thinking for several minutes, so far Hermione's plan seemed solid.

"Right, so if we convince The Dark Lord, you'd give information on the Order I'm sure that along with your reputation for being an amazing witch will alleviate some of the worries about your blood." Severus said. "But a general disagreement about how the Order operated isn't enough to explain your switch in loyalties."

"That's where I need your expertise." Hermione said, biting her lower lip. "The only thing I can think of is to tell him the truth about Draco, that he's the reason I'm willing to join him. But I can only do that if I know Draco will be safe and that he won't punish him for being involved with me."

Severus got up and stood by the window, thinking out loud. "It would be the most obvious answer, I don't think he would hurt Draco, he cares for him too much. And I don't think Bella would appreciate it."

"What does Bellatrix have to do with Voldemort punishing Draco." Hermione queried, also wondering about Severus earlier statement regarding Voldemort's feelings.

"Bella is very close to Draco, she was the reason he was able to last so long after Dumbledore's death without participating in any activities. She asked Voldemort to give him time and he did, both Bella and The Dark Lord are extremely fond of Draco." Severus explained, returning to his seat opposite Hermione.

"How does she have so much power over what Voldemort does?" Hermione asked.

Severus looked at her curiously. "You don't know? Draco never told you, Bella is The Dark Lord's lover."

Hermione spluttered in shock, that was an image she didn't need to in her head. Chuckling slightly Severus continued to speak.

"Using your relationship with Draco might work, one thing though." He said, drawing Hermione's attention back to the topic in hand. "If he agrees to let you join, and you don't deliver he will use Draco to punish you."

"How?"

"There's a few ways, he could torture him and make you watch, he could force you to do the torturing or he could reverse it so Draco was the one torturing you." Severus watched Hermione pale at the thought. "But, if you're loyal to him none of this matters."

"But you think it could work?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, what does Draco think?"

"He doesn't know. And I'm not telling him." Hermione insisted. "He'll only try and dissuade me from the idea."

Severus clicked his tongue disapprovingly but remained quiet on the subject. "How do you plan on approaching The Dark Lord?"

"I thought I would come to a meeting." Hermione grinned.

Severus stared at the young witch in bewilderment. "All the meetings are held at Malfoy Manor, you can't just walk in."

"That's exactly what I do plan to do." Hermione explained. "For the past two weeks I've been studying the Manor's wards and with a few weeks more of studying I'll be able to break them no bother."

"That's very impressive." Severus said wide eyed. "That ought to impress The Dark Lord."

"That's what I'm hoping." Hermione said, enthusiastically nodding in excitement. "I'm hoping a show of my abilities will help my cause."

"When were you thinking of doing this?" Severus asked.

"I'm hoping you'll be able to help there." Hermione admitted. "I want it to be an impressive entrance, I want him to know I'm serious."

Severus thought for several minutes. "Next Month, there's a big meeting planned in just under three weeks' time, all the inner circle will be present. It'll be ideal timing, you'll have longer to crack the wards at the manor."

"What if I was to do something else as well in those three weeks?" Hermione asked, a plan forming in her head.

"What do you mean?" Severus questioned confused.

Hermione grinned. "I'm thinking a show of my abilities to Voldemort, get him thinking about how useful I could be to the cause."

"That's an excellent idea, if I'm present I could drop subtle hints about what an asset you would be." Severus exclaimed getting excited himself. "What are you going to do though."

"I thought I could break into Hogwarts." Hermione casually said.

Severus' mouth dropped open. "The Order's been watching the school for two months and are still no nearer on gaining entry."

Hermione laughed and stood up, walking towards the large windows. "I'm not talking about the Order, I figured out the wards for Hogwarts years ago."

"Why haven't you done something about it then?" Severus questioned.

"Because when I said I could get through the wards, The Order dismissed me as being over ambitious claiming it was impossible for a teenager to do such a thing. Since then I've kept quiet and the rest of the group have been trying to work out how to get past your security."

Severus stared at the petite brunette witch in front of him, for someone so small she was formidable. With her on his side The Dark Lord would win easily, a thought that sat fine with Severus as long as Draco was happy and with Hermione by his side he would be.

"Hermione are you really sure about this?" He asked, needing to know she was serious.

Hermione turned, finding Severus standing behind her with a serious look on his face.

"Yes, I'd do anything to be with Draco. I want a normal life, I want to be able to spend time with Draco without having to sneak about and snatch odd moments together. Since we've been together, we've only been able to spend the odd couple of days together. This has been going on for over seven years and I don't know how much longer I can stand it. This is the only option I can find, so I'll take it willingly." Hermione poured her heart out, releasing the thoughts that had influenced her decision.

Severus nodded and placed a comforting hand on the upset girl's arm. "Let me know when you finalise your plans for Hogwarts and then we'll discuss the meeting."

"Fine, expect another letter on your desk in about a week." Hermione said, smiling weakly and once again reaching up and hugging her former potions master.

Severus returned the hug more easily this time and after a brief goodbye apparated back home.

After Severus left Hermione returned to looking out of the window, her mind was much more settled and she was more confident about her plan. Now she had to work out how to make her presence felt at Hogwarts without getting caught. Hermione smiled as the beginning of a plan started to form in her mind.

Checking the wards one final time Hermione apparated from the villa in Italy and landed in her own small flat in London. Making plans in her head she quickly fed Crookshanks before heading for a shower before the night's Order meeting.

* * *

**A/N – Thank you to everyone who's added it as a favourite, followed or reviewed the story, I really appreciate the support.**

**Sorry to my lovely reviewer Dramioneluv, this plot line was always planned but I hope you continue to read the story and enjoy it. **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N – Thanks to all the amazing reviewers, especially ****Dramioneluv, who this chapter is dedicated to. You are encouraging me to spend all my spare time writing, I only have another four or five chapters of this story ready so I need to speed up the writing. I also have several other stories in the pipeline, which I hope you also enjoy when I get round to publishing them. (hopefully next year)**

* * *

Hermione went over the final preparations in her mind as she tied her hair up, in a few hours she would be breaking into Hogwarts and setting her plan to join the dark side into motion. It had been just over two weeks since her conversation with Severus in Italy and Hermione had doubted her decision many times, however thinking of Draco made her realise she was doing the only thing she could to secure their future together.

The idea to join the dark side had come to Hermione the same day she had seen Draco and they had talked. Initially Hermione had dismissed the idea as crazy, but the thought kept reappearing in her mind over the next few days, each time with a bit more detail. Frustrated with the idea that wouldn't leave her alone, Hermione ended up in the woods near to Malfoy Manor, hoping the proximity to her lover would help her decide. While there Hermione began carefully exploring the wards surrounding the property, the older wards set by Lucius and former Malfoy's were weak and Hermione knew she could get past them quite easily. However the vast majority of the wards were extremely complex and would take some figuring out, Hermione could tell immediately that Draco had set the wards, she could feel his unique brand of magic evident in the wards. For the next week Hermione visited the Manor regularly, figuring out the wards and thinking about her crazy idea.

Hermione was still considering her options when she next met Draco, things were strained between them and Hermione was afraid that if she didn't do something soon their relationship would be ruined. From then on she seriously considered her plan and decided it could work depending on Voldemort's reaction. Needing advice, Hermione took the risky step of contacting Severus Snape, the only person in a position to help her. Using a transference spell she had invented herself, Hermione wrote a letter that magically disappeared from her desk and appeared on Severus' desk at Hogwarts.

Since the meeting in Italy with Severus, she had worked hard at cracking the wards at the Manor and coming up with a plan for Hogwarts. A couple of magical letters a week ago had made all the arrangements between Hermione and her former Professor, now all she had to do was perform her part well.

Whenever doubts started to creep into her mind, Hermione spent time at The Order's headquarters and reminded herself that The Order were doing things just as bad as the Death Eaters, as Harry's need to revenge Dumbledore's death was becoming increasingly more important to him than defeating Voldemort. The other thing that kept the doubts at bay was thinking of Draco and the fate that would await him should Harry kill Voldemort. The thought of Draco being killed caused a sharp pain in Hermione's heart.

After finishing getting ready, Hermione checked her wards were secure and satisfied no one could enter her flat, she grabbed her jacket and apparated into a field a few miles away from Hogsmeade. She couldn't apparate directly into Hogsmeade as the Death Eaters that controlled Hogwarts also patrolled the small wizarding village and her arrival would be spotted immediately.

Walking towards her former school, Hermione was relieved she didn't have the added job of avoiding The Order's surveillance team. A few days after making her decision to defect, Hermione persuaded Harry to cancel the surveillance for a while as they were making no progress, Harry begrudgingly agreed when a few more people voiced their support for the decision. Hermione had been extremely relieved, while she knew she could have avoided been seen by the surveillance team she had no idea what action her appearance inside the castle would cause. While the surveillance team might miss her they surely wouldn't miss the commotion she might cause, the last thing she wanted was for Harry to find out something had occurred at Hogwarts, he would investigate and probably discover her presence in the building.

When Hermione reached the Hogwarts boundary she stayed hidden amongst the trees for several minutes waiting for the patrolling Death Eaters to leave the vicinity. When the coast was clear, Hermione cast a disillusionment charm on herself and set about breaking through the wards. Ten minutes later Hermione broke through the wards and for the first time in nearly five years, stepped onto the grounds of Hogwarts. Hermione cautiously made her way towards the castle, trying to keep hidden despite the disillusionment charm.

Arriving at the castle, Hermione entered the building through a back door, which was used by students going to and from Herbology. Grateful she had arrived during classes, Hermione made her way through the mainly deserted corridors. Hermione had to hide from students three times before she found herself outside her destination, the headmaster's office. Hermione looked up and down the corridor, checking she was alone before moving to stand in front of the gargoyle that guarded the headmaster's office.

"Dragon's Breath." Hermione whispered the password, relieved when the statue sprung open, not that she doubted for one minute Severus had given her false information.

Upon arranging the time and date with Severus, Hermione had requested two things, one the password to his office and two that the portraits of former headmasters be charmed so they were not aware of her presence in the room. The second request was to prevent any of them wandering to another of their portraits and telling tales of her sudden appearance at Hogwarts.

Pushing open the door, Hermione was pleased to see all the portrait frames were empty. Free to wander the room without scrutiny, Hermione began the task of de-activating the anti-apparition wards around the room. Finally satisfied the wards were down, Hermione then began casting multiple protective charms around herself, she was after all hoping to come face to face with Voldemort in the very near future and she had to be protected. When Hermione was satisfied her charms would hold up long enough for her to make an impression, she flicked her wand again.

"Expecto Patronum." She said clearly, as a sliver ferret burst from her wand.

Hermione was still surprised that no one had linked her patronus with the incident that had befallen her boyfriend while they were in fourth year. The first time she had cast the spell, during a DA meeting in fifth year and produced the silver ferret she had been shocked at the form it had taken and worried in case people made the connection with the blond Slytherin. In the following years, Hermione had used her patronus sparingly as not to remind people of the shape it took. In fact the only person who had made the connection was Draco himself, he had been distinctly unimpressed with the form her patronus took. When Hermione told him he should be flattered that she loved him enough for her patronus to take on a shape representing him, he had complained it would have been better if he was represented by a dragon or a snake.

As Hermione watched the silvery ferret bounce around the room, she smiled at the memories of Draco's reaction. Deciding it was show time she waved her wand at the silvery animal and it bounced off through the door to follow it's instructions.

Hermione plonked herself on Severus' desk and sat back to wait for the action to begin.

* * *

Down in the dungeons, Severus was explaining the purpose of a new potion to The Dark Lord and Bellatrix when shouts from a nearby classroom disturbed them.

"What is that racket?" Voldemort asked, never have heard the students behaving like that in all the years he had been in control of the place.

"I don't know, it should be a second year potions lesson." Severus snapped, annoyed the students were showing him up.

Before anyone had a chance to say more there was a knock on the door and a small boy in a Ravenclaw uniform poked his head round the door.

"Professor Snape, Sir. There's a problem next door."

Severus swept out of the storage cupboard and headed to the classroom, curious about the noise Voldemort and Bella followed behind.

"QUIET." Severus bellowed, entering the chaos of the potions classroom, the whole room fell quiet at the headmaster's entrance.

"What is that?" Bellatrix squealed, pointing to a silvery animal that was running around on the shelves that lined the walls, knocking jars over as it went.

"A patronus." Voldemort hissed. "It's the Order."

Bellatrix immediately whipped her wand out and started shooting spells at the patronus, which it easily dodged. The ferret suddenly charged at the witch, quickly running through her legs and nearly knocking the mad woman off her feet, she wobbled furiously for a few seconds before regaining her balance.

"After it." Voldemort ordered, as the silvery ferret ran out of the room.

Voldemort and Bellatrix immediately gave chase to the animal, while Severus ordered the classroom to be cleaned before heading after The Dark Lord. Following the shrieks of Bella, Severus headed for the entrance hall, smirking at Hermione's way of making her presence felt. Severus was sure the ferret would lead them to Hermione, wherever she was.

Severus caught up with Voldemort and Bellatrix as they were headed up the front stairs after the patronus.

"Whose is it? And why is it wandering around here?" Voldemort demanded, aiming a spell at the spectral creature running about in front of him.

"I don't know whose patronus it is." Severus lied. "Or have any idea how it got into the school."

Voldemort and his two Death Eaters followed the ferret for a few more minutes, still being unsuccessful in their attempts to hex the thing. Finally the ferret stopped in front of Severus' office and with a final run around the three, promptly disappeared.

"Where did it go?" Bellatrix asked, twirling around looking for the silvery animal.

"It's gone." Voldemort said. "I do believe it's delivered its message. Severus password."

"Dragon's Breath." Severus said, causing the gargoyle to spin round revealing the spiral staircase.

Voldemort swept up the stairs, Severus and Bellatrix close behind him. When the three reached the top of the stairs they all stopped in shock at the sight before them, sitting casually on Severus desk was Hermione Granger.

"Mudblood." Bellatrix hissed, firing a curse at the brunette witch.

Bellatrix's mouth dropped open in shock when the spell rebounded off an invisible shield and headed straight back in her direction. Unfortunately the older woman didn't react quick enough and was hit directly with her own stunning spell causing her to fall to the ground in an untidy heap.

"What are you doing here?" Voldemort asked the former Gryffindor, after quickly assessing that Bella would be fine.

"You'll find out soon enough." Hermione said, and with a smirk dissapparated in front of their eyes.

"How was that possible?" Voldemort screamed at Severus. "You can't apparate on Hogwarts grounds."

"I don't know, I'm not an expert on the wards." Severus patiently explained, secretly impressed with Hermione's skill.

"Wake Bella, I'm going to check on something and then I'm going to call for Draco." Voldemort said, sweeping out of the room.

Severus looked down at a stunned Bellatrix. Knowing she was going to be mad, he reluctantly raised his wand and released her from the spell.

* * *

Hermione landed in the trees next to where she had gained access to the property. Curious about what reaction her appearance would have caused she stayed hidden for several minutes. When five minutes had passed without anything happening, Hermione started to make her way away from the school and nearby village so she could apparate home, she didn't want to risk anyone tracing her from Hogsmeade.

Hermione was just sneaking through an alleyway behind The Three Broomsticks when she heard a crack of apparition nearby, cautiously poking her head around the building she saw the familiar blond head of her boyfriend. From her hiding place she watched as Draco headed for the school, obviously Voldemort had called for him to investigate how she had gained entry to the building.

Deciding it was unwise to stick around any longer, Hermione quickly continued to sneak out of Hogsmeade towards the field where she could apparate home safely. Arriving at the field, Hermione took one last look at the large castle situated on the nearby hill and promptly turned on the spot, disappearing with a loud crack.


	8. Chapter 8

In a small wizarding village in Southern Wales, Draco crept around the buildings muttering incantations and flicking his wand discretely. After nearly an hour studying the small village, the blond turned and apparated away with a small pop.

Arriving back home at the Manor, Draco went directly to his office and sat at his large oak desk. Pulling some new parchment from the drawer, Draco pointed his wand at the paper and suddenly drawings started to appear from nowhere. Draco silently watched as a detailed map of the village he just visited started to appear on the parchment. When it was finished Draco checked it for any mistakes, satisfied it was accurate he put the map to one side and started making notes on another piece of parchment.

Draco was currently planning an attack on the village that housed a couple of members of The Order of the Phoenix. While he had planned such attacks and had being present at many before, this one was personal retaliation for Draco.

A week ago the Order had attacked the Parkinson's summer house in Cornwall. Draco had seen the house and the mess the so called good guys had caused, he had been angry his friend's, family's house had been targeted. He was fuming when he returned home and Narcissa told him that she had been at the house only hours before the attack with a heavily pregnant Pansy. Draco had immediately gone to see his oldest friend and found a hysterical Pansy, ranting over what would have happened to her if she had been present at the time of the attack. Draco calmed her down and reassured her she was perfectly safe with her fiancée, Theo Nott. After spending a few hours with Pansy, Draco reinforced the wards on the house she shared with Theo and headed home.

Draco then spent the next few days contemplating what would have happened if his mother and Pansy were still at the house when the Order attacked, he wasn't convinced they wouldn't hurt two women even if one was pregnant. It was during these few days that Draco decided some sort of retaliation was called for and after doing some research he found the perfect village.

Most people assumed Draco was cold and uncaring, but there was a small number of people who he loved and he would do anything for them. Unfortunately for The Order of the Phoenix they had just came close to hurting two of those people in Narcissa and Pansy.

Draco was still making notes when his left arm began to sting slightly, rolling up his sleeve he saw the Dark Mark burning. Wondering why he was being summoned, he knew The Dark Lord and his Aunt were at Hogwarts, Draco put away his work and apparated away.

* * *

Draco arrived in Hogsmeade with a pop and started to make his way to the school. Reaching the school boundary line Draco paused, there was something different about the wards, while still intact they had been tampered with. Puzzled, Draco set off towards the castle. When he arrived at the front entrance he found the Head Boy waiting for him.

"Mr Malfoy, Professor Snape asked me to tell you, he's waiting for you in his office. The password is Dragon's Breath." The young Slytherin told Draco.

"Thanks." Draco said, moving passed him and entering the building.

Draco headed to his godfather's office and after giving the password climbed the stairs and entered the circular office. Upon entering he saw his godfather casually sitting at his desk while his Aunt Bella paced the room muttering under her breath, there was no sign of The Dark Lord.

"What's going on?" Draco asked. "The wards have been tampered with."

"We've had a visitor." Voldemort said, entering the room behind Draco.

"What? Who?" Draco questioned.

"The Mudblood." Bella hissed.

Draco looked at his godfather questioning what his Aunt was saying, Severus gave a miniscule nod indicating the woman was right. Draco turned back to The Dark Lord for an explanation.

"She apparated from here?" Draco questioned, when Voldemort had finished telling Draco what had happened earlier.

"Yes, but you're not supposed to be able to apparate in Hogwarts grounds." Voldemort hissed, pacing the floor.

Draco had to supress a grin at Voldemort practically quoting Hogwarts: A History, something he had heard his girlfriend do many a time. Whipping out his wand Draco started to check the apparition wards.

"The wards for the office have been removed." Draco finally announced, when he had finished checking the security spells in the building.

" How?" Bella asked. "Surely that's not possible."

"It is." Draco said, wondering why Hermione had entered the building. "It just takes enormous skill."

"So the Mudblood had help?" Bella murmured.

Draco shook his head. "No, Granger's the only one of that lot clever enough to break the wards. Potter and Weasley are far too dumb."

Voldemort looked doubtful that the young Mudblood girl could manage to enter Hogwarts without help. "Severus?" He questioned, wanting his old friend's opinion.

"Draco's right, Hermione Granger is the only member of The Order skilled enough to organise such a break in." Severus said, doing his part in praising the former Gryffindor.

Voldemort turned back to Draco. "You said the wards had been tampered with."

"Yes." Draco nodded. "I think they've been changed in a certain spot to allow an unauthorized person access to the grounds. Of course I'll have to go and check to be sure."

"If that's what been done, how difficult is it to accomplish it?" Voldemort questioned, wondering about the Mudbloods skill.

"If that's what was done, then it is very difficult." Draco told Voldemort.

"Draco, check the wards and reinforce them and put back the anti-apparition ones on Severus' office." Voldemort ordered the blond. "Severus, I want you at the Manor at seven tonight for a meeting. Bella let's go."

Draco waited until Voldemort and his Aunt had left the office before turning to his godfather.

"What's going on? Why was Hermione here and how did she get into your office?"

"I have no idea, Draco." Severus replied coolly. "I suggest you ask her yourself."

Draco looked at his godfather for several seconds before deciding he wouldn't get any further information out of the older man. Draco then re-applied the anti-apparition wards on his godfather's office and left to examine the external wards surrounding the school.

As he suspected the wards had been altered at a certain point to allow someone who wasn't authorized through the invisible barriers. While fixing them, Draco was curious to note Hermione had made the alterations very specific, she was the only person permitted to enter the grounds at that particular point. When Draco had finished he apparated home hoping to squeeze in a visit with his girlfriend before tonight's meeting.

* * *

Draco stared at the gold dragon necklace lying on his desk, so far it had not changed colour and he only had an hour until the meeting. Tearing his eyes away from the bit of jewellery he turned back to his plans for the upcoming raid, making notes and planning everything thoroughly. At five to seven Draco put away his notes and put the necklace back around his neck, there was still no word from Hermione, he wasn't sure if she was busy or ignoring him. Putting thoughts of his girlfriend from his head, Draco headed down to the dining room for the latest Death Eater meeting.

Entering the dining room, Draco realised the meeting was for his most trusted circle as there were only three other people in the room waiting for The Dark Lord. Draco sat down in his usual place at the table, to the right of The Dark Lord's seat at the head of the long table and opposite his Aunt who sat on Voldemort's left side. Lucius was sitting in the chair next to Draco and Severus was sitting opposite the elder Malfoy, next to Bella.

The double doors opening announced Voldemort's arrival, nodding at his four Death Eaters he quietly took his seat at the table, Nagini slithering along behind him. The snake then spent the rest of the meeting curled up under its masters chair.

"What happened this afternoon at Hogwarts stays between us, I don't want it made public knowledge a member of The Order broke into the school." Voldemort started the meeting, getting straight down to business. "Severus, I trust no one from your end will talk."

"No, none of the pupils will say anything, they think it was a Dark Arts class gone wrong." Severus replied, he had spent all afternoon making sure none of the pupils or staff were aware of Hermione's visit.

"Do you know how she entered the office?" The Dark Lord fixed his unnerving stare on the headmaster.

"No, unfortunately all the portraits were absent at the time so no one saw how she entered." Severus explained. "And I can't question anyone on whether they gave away the password without arousing suspicion."

"Where were those idiotic portraits, why were they all gone?" Voldemort seethed.

"They were attending a card game in one of Albus' other portraits." Severus explained, not revealing he had been the one to organize the exodus.

"Bloody Dumbledore, he knew something was happening." Voldemort paused, thinking, before turning to Lucius. "Do The Order have any access to any of his portraits?"

"I don't think so." The Blond replied. "My source has never mentioned any contact between The Order and that old fool."

Lucius had acquired a source of information into The Order's affair's years ago by blackmail. He had caught the thief, Mundungus Fletcher, trying to sell Black family heirlooms in Knockturn Alley. Lucius knew for a fact the items in question were stolen from the Order headquarters, as everyone knew Potter had inherited the house from his godfather Sirius Black. Bellatrix had been furious at the time as she believed the house was rightfully hers but when she had tried to gain access to the house she found she couldn't find its location as it was protected by a fidelius charm. Since then he had blackmailed the man into giving him information or he would insure Harry Potter found out about his thievery.

"Then how did he know to make sure the room was empty?" Voldemort mused out loud. "The Order must have gotten word to him somehow."

"I don't think they did." Lucius started tentatively, not wanting to speak out of turn. "I spoke to him this afternoon, according to him, The Order don't know how to gain access to the school."

"Nonsense, this afternoon proves they do." Bella said, sneering at her brother-in-law.

"Actually, I don't think they do." Draco said, volunteering his opinion. "I checked the wards, they weren't tampered with to allow anyone access to the school. Instead they were readjusted to only allow Granger access."

"You mean, she's the only person who could enter? Why?" Lucius asked, doubting his son's findings.

Draco shrugged noncommittally, he had no answers to his father's questions.

"Isn't it harder to adjust the wards like that?" Severus asked, seizing the opportunity to highlight Hermione's talents.

"Yes, very." Draco said slowly. "It's difficult enough to just bypass the wards, that in itself takes immense skill, but to change them to allow one specific person access in one specific spot is amazing. Very few people could alter the wards without setting off the alarms."

"And we're supposed to believe the Mudblood did this on her own with no help. Impossible." Bella sniffed.

"It is possible. Hermione Granger is an extraordinarily talented Witch." Severus said. "I taught her, I would have loved for her to be a Slytherin."

Voldemort sat for a few minutes thinking over Severus' words before turning to his most trusted Death Eater.

"Draco what do you think? You went to school with the girl, is she as capable as Severus suggests."

"Yes, she is." Draco admitted, puzzled by his godfather's behaviour. But sensing he was doing it on purpose he followed his lead. "If it wasn't for Granger, Potter would have died numerous times at school."

"What is she up to?" Voldemort asked. "If The Order wasn't aware of her jaunt today, what was the purpose?"

"Perhaps we should wait for her next move. If there is one." Severus suggested. "I think it's all we can do for now."

"Severus is right." Voldemort declared. "Lucius, keep an eye on things with your informant. We must all be alert."

With that final warning, Voldemort swept from the room with Bella and Nagini following him.

"I best get back." Severus said trying to avoid his godson. "Lucius, Draco. See you soon."

Severus then hurried out of the room leaving the two Malfoy men behind. He had nearly reached the front doors when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning he found himself looking into the stormy grey eyes of his godson.

"What's going on, Severus?"

"You were at the meeting, you know as much as me." Severus lied smoothly, ignoring the pang of guilt that came from lying to his godson.

"Why do I get the impression you know so much more than you're saying?" Draco said, staring at the older man.

"I don't know, maybe you're becoming cynical."

"Or maybe I know when I'm being lied to." Draco replied coldly.

Severus sighed deeply, he hated having the only person he really cared about mad at him.

"Trust me, Draco." Severus implored his godson. "Please."

Draco relented and removed his hand from Severus shoulder, letting him leave the house. Heading back to his wing of the Manor, Draco thought over the events of the day. He was sure of one thing, Severus knew exactly what Hermione was up to and clearly wasn't going to tell him of the plan.

Sending another message via the enchanted necklace, Draco lay on his large bed and contemplated the fact his girlfriend and godfather were up to something and neither seemed to want to inform him of what they were doing.


	9. Chapter 9

Hermione looked at her necklace, it was glowing green again. It had been glowing on and off for the previous two days, ever since her visit to Hogwarts. Hermione sadly tucked the heart under her top and continued to try and read her book, she had never deliberately ignored Draco before and she felt guilty about doing so. She knew if she went to see her boyfriend, he would ask her about her trip to the school and Hermione didn't want to lie to him but she also didn't want him to know about her plan until it was too late for him to stop her going through with it.

Two hours later Hermione put her book down and went into the kitchen to make herself a sandwich, the necklace had stopped glowing over an hour ago. After eating her sandwich, Hermione pulled her boots on and flooed to Grimmauld Place, hoping to take her mind off Draco.

* * *

When Hermione arrived at Grimmauld Place she found the front room surprisingly empty, hearing voices coming from the kitchen she headed towards the room at the back of the house.

"Hermione, dear. I'm just making lunch if you want some." Mrs Weasley called from her place by the oven as Hermione entered the room.

"I've already eaten, thanks Molly." Hermione replied, smiling at the older witch.

Hermione walked over to the table where Harry, Ron and the Weasley Twins were sitting around a large piece of parchment.

"What are you up to?" Hermione asked, sitting down next to Fred.

The four boys exchanged looks before Harry replied.

"We're going over the plans of The Greengrass estate in Scotland."

"So you can launch another attack?" Hermione asked, displeased her friends were continuing the blind raids on any Pureblood's house.

"Yes, so we can stop the scum helping you know who." Ron spat, smarting from Hermione's recent cold attitude towards him recently.

"How do you even know The Greengrass' are involved with Voldemort." Hermione tried to reason with her friends.

"They're an old Pureblood family, and both their children were in Slytherin." Harry retorted.

"Oh yes, I forgot. All Slytherin's are evil." Hermione replied sarcastically as she stood up.

"Yes they are." Harry said, a cold look in his eye. "We're going ahead with this, Hermione whether you like it or not."

Harry then turned back to the map, and all four boys started planning again, ignoring the fuming brunette standing beside them. Hermione looked at the four boys in disgust and turned on her heel and left the kitchen. Hermione debated returning home but instead headed to the library.

* * *

"Hermione!"

Hermione was interrupted from her reading by the shout of Ron. Putting her book down she went to the door of the library, poking her head out.

"What do you want Ronald?" She called, planning on staying in the room unless it was necessary for her to leave.

Ron's red head appeared from a doorway down the hall. "Dean just sent his patronus, they're being attacked."

Hermione hurried from the library into the front room where Harry and Ron stood.

"What's going on? Ron said Dean was being attacked." Hermione asked Harry.

"Not Dean personally, the village they live in, come on." Harry said heading for the front door so they could apparate.

Hermione followed Harry out of the door and quickly apparated to the small wizarding village where Dean lived with his best friend Seamus Finnegan.

* * *

Arriving Hermione quickly took in the devastation before her, she had only visited the village once, but it was almost unrecognisable as the small sleepy village she remembered.

There were several Death Eaters and Order members fighting in the small village and a lot of building's looked to be affected by the flying spells, several were on fire while several had large chunks of the building missing.

"Hermione, do something." Harry called, forcing Hermione into action.

Hermione started battling nearby Death Eaters, while trying to keep an eye on Ron and Harry. Both of her friends tended to use the killing curse during battle, something Hermione found worrying in case they killed Draco. Hermione managed to keep both her friends in sight as she dodged curses and threw hexes at the cloaked Death Eaters.

Ducking a curse, Hermione looked up and out of the corner of her eye saw a tall Death Eater staring at her. Even though she couldn't see the face of the Death Eater she knew it was Draco under the silver mask and black robes.

Continuing to battle she now kept an eye on her boyfriend as well as her friends, making sure they didn't come into contact. Draco however seemed to have other ideas as he casually worked his way over to the boy who lived. Harry was too busy fighting to notice the Death Eater heading his way, so he was taken by surprise when Draco shot a stunning spell at him, sending him flying across the street.

The sight of Harry Potter flying through the air, brought a momentarily halt to the fighting. As Harry stirred, the Order prepared to carry on the fight but were shocked when the assembled Death Eaters started apparating away. Unsure of what was going on the Order started to gather around Harry who was shakily getting to his feet. Once on his feet Harry looked around the ruined village before noticing the lone figure of a Death Eater standing in the middle of the street watching him intently.

Hermione stood frozen, knowing exactly who the Death Eater was, but not knowing what was going to happen. Hermione watched as Draco removed his mask, revealing his identity to Harry who immediately shot a curse at him. Hermione breathed a sigh of relief when Harry's spell rebounded off an invisible shield surrounding her boyfriend.

"You can throw curses at me all day, Potter. They won't get through the shield." Draco smirked. "Not that I'm planning on staying all day, now you've got my message."

"What message." Harry sneered. "That Death Eaters are scum and will attack and kill anyone."

"Do you see anyone dead Potter?" Draco said. "This was a friendly warning. Stop attacking my friends."

"Or what?" Harry goaded the blond. "We all know you're too chicken to do anything."

Draco took a step closer to the assembled group, causing several people to back off warily.

"Maybe years ago, but we both know I would now." Draco said menacingly, looking every inch the formidable right hand man to Voldemort. "If your precious Order goes anywhere near Pansy or any of my other friends again, it won't be Thomas and Finnegan I pay a visit to. And next time I let my team use the killing curse."

"Threatening me won't work." Harry said, sounding unsure of himself.

Draco laughed. "Who said I would be visiting you Potter. I thought I would visit your golden girl, I'm sure Granger would be a lot more fun to play with." Draco let his eyes wander over Hermione as he spoke, knowing it would be the easiest way of getting an reaction from Potter and his pet Weasel.

"You evil git, you won't go anywhere near, 'Mione." Ron shouted, throwing another hex at Draco, forgetting about the protective shield.

Draco calmly stood as the hex rebounded off the shield again. "That won't be an issue if you stay away from me and my friends. Think about it Potter, next time it will be so much worse, and in a muggle neighbourhood as well."

With his parting words and one last look at Hermione, Draco then apparated leaving Harry and Ron to wonder how he knew Hermione lived in a muggle neighbourhood.

"Hermione, we need to talk about your safety." Harry said, turning to the brunette. "Come on, let's go back to headquarters."

After giving instructions for Ron to organize the clean-up Harry and Hermione apparated back to Grimmauld Place.

* * *

As soon as they arrived at Grimmauld Place, Harry started making plans for Hermione to move into Grimmauld Place permanently.

"Harry stop." Hermione said shaking her head. "I'm not moving."

"But Malfoy clearly knows where you live." Harry protested.

"He only said he would attack me, if you didn't stop the attacks on his friends." Hermione insisted, hoping she might be able to persuade Harry to stop his ridiculous attacks on Purebloods.

"Come on Hermione, he doesn't mean it." Harry said. "If he knows where you live he can easily attack at any time."

"I think he's telling the truth." Hermione replied, folding her arms over her chest. "The Death Eaters today didn't use the killing curse."

"Don't be naive, Hermione. It's just a ploy."

"Really, he seemed pretty angry about the attacks." Hermione said. "And by the way, what does Pansy have to do with anything?" The mention of the former Slytherin during the exchange between Harry and Draco, suddenly occurring to Hermione.

"We raided her summer house a few weeks ago." Harry shrugged.

"She's pregnant for god's sake." Hermione yelled. "What would have happened if she'd been there?"

"Then we would have had one less Death Eater spawn to worry about." Harry replied casually.

"That's disgusting." Hermione replied, genuinely shocked at her friends callousness. "Pansy isn't a Death Eater and the baby is innocent."

"Parkinson may not be a Death Eater, but she supports them and Nott defiantly is one. And the baby isn't innocent with those two as parents, it'll only grow up believing the same warped ideas on blood purity that those two have." Harry replied coldly.

Hermione shook her head sadly, Harry was quickly erasing any lingering doubts she may have been harbouring over her change of allegiance.

"You know Harry, you're just as bad as Voldemort." She told her friend.

"How dare you compare me to that monster." Harry exploded, clenching his hands into fists.

"Why not? He discriminates against Muggleborns and you discriminate against Slytherins." Hermione told her angry friend.

"That's not the same, Hermione." Harry snarled, looking at Hermione as though she was the enemy. "Slytherins are evil."

"I'm going." Hermione said shaking her head at her friend's blindness towards Slytherins, she now realised there was no convincing Harry his actions were wrong.

Turning back she looked at her friend, not recognising the cold and heartless man standing in front of her. "You've changed, Harry. The man I knew would never consider harming a pregnant woman and her unborn baby."

Hermione then flooed back to her flat, leaving Harry standing alone in the living room to ponder Hermione's words.

Once at home, Hermione doubled her wards not wanting to see her so called friends. After she had calmed down slightly she reached for her necklace and sent a message to Draco, hoping he would respond.


	10. Chapter 10

Draco was sitting on the beach in Italy when he noticed the dragon around his neck was red, he had retreated to the island after his confrontation with Potter earlier in the afternoon. He quickly responded to Hermione's message and sat waiting for her to arrive.

Five minutes later he felt the wards shift as Hermione apparated onto the island, but it was another five minutes before his girlfriend appeared behind him.

"I thought you were avoiding me." Draco said, as Hermione sat down next to him.

"I was, but after this afternoon I wanted to see you." Hermione replied.

"Why?" Draco asked, turning to face his girlfriend.

"Because you could have been hurt this afternoon." Hermione explained.

Draco shook his head. "I didn't mean that. I meant why were you avoiding me?"

"Because I didn't want you asking awkward questions." Hermione admitted after a few moments silence.

"Like, why were you at Hogwarts two days ago?" Draco asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, those types of awkward questions, that I can't answer right now."

"Can't or won't, Granger." Draco huffed, annoyed at his girlfriend's cryptic answers. She was as bad as Severus not telling him what was going on.

"Both, I suppose." Hermione conceded.

Draco said nothing, he simply turned back around and continued to stare out to sea, like he had been doing since his arrival on the island. Hermione knew he was upset that she wouldn't confide in him.

"Do you trust me?" She asked, after watching her sulking boyfriend for several minutes.

"What?" Draco asked, puzzled by the question and the randomness of it.

"Do you trust me?" Hermione asked again.

"Yes, but…" Hermione put a finger over Draco's lips to stop him from finishing his sentence.

"I promise I'll explain everything about my appearance at Hogwarts in a few days." Hermione said, hoping to pacify the annoyed blond sitting beside her.

Hermione sensed Draco had more to say on the matter, so she decided to distract him. Leaning over she brushed her lips over his, wrapping her hand around his neck to pull him closer. Draco responded enthusiastically to the kiss, wrapping his arms around Hermione.

"Is this supposed to distract me?" He asked, breaking the kiss and leaning his forehead against hers.

"Yes." Hermione smiled coyly. "Is it working?"

"Maybe," Draco smirked. "I think I need more distracting."

As Draco leaned in for another kiss, Hermione wriggled out of his embrace and stood up.

"What are you doing now?" Draco asked, annoyed she'd gotten up.

"Distracting you some more." Hermione replied as she began to take off her top.

Draco watched as Hermione carried on undressing until she was left in her underwear.

"Now what?" He asked, hoping her next actions resulted in some sort of sexual act.

"Now we go for a swim." Hermione grinned at her bemused boyfriend.

"In the sea, with no swim wear?" Draco questioned.

"Yes in the sea." Hermione laughed. "And as for swim wear, this is a private island with only the two of us present, so I don't think we need any."

As she was talking Hermione stripped off her underwear, and throwing her bra at Draco she turned and headed off into the calm blue sea.

Draco sat on the beach stunned by his girlfriend's actions, in all the years he had been with Hermione he had never seen her act so brazen. Draco watched as Hermione dove into the sea, emerging dripping wet.

"Are you coming in?" Hermione shouted from where she was standing, the clear blue water reaching her waist, leaving the top half of her body fully exposed.

The sight of Hermione standing waist deep in the clear blue water with the late afternoon Mediterranean sun making her exposed skin glisten as the water dripped down her body, had Draco incredibly aroused. Quickly stripping off his clothes, he followed his girlfriend into the sea.

Hermione immediately started swimming away from Draco when she saw him enter the water, but he was much faster and soon caught her, dragging her under the water with him.

"That was evil." Hermione squealed, as she broke the surface of the water.

"Of course it was." Draco laughed. "I'm a Death Eater, it's kind of in the job description."

"You're still not supposed to be evil to me though." Hermione fake pouted.

"Come here and I'll make it up to you." Draco told Hermione, pulling her close to his naked body.

Hermione willingly let Draco pull her into an embrace. Standing wrapped around each other waist deep in the cool water, Draco dipped his head and passionately kissed Hermione. As they were kissing, Hermione's hand started wandering down Draco's torso, caressing his toned stomach and making its way to his hard member. Draco moaned into Hermione's mouth when she wrapped her small hand around his erection.

"I thought I was the one making it up to you for being evil." Draco groaned, struggling to speak as Hermione's hand kept stroking him.

"You can do that later." Hermione told Draco, kissing his shoulder as he had his head buried in her neck.

Hermione began to kiss and lick Draco's neck and shoulder as her hand worked on his large erection below the water. After a few minutes of stroking her boyfriend she could feel him start to tense up and knowing his release was imminent she moved her hand that was under the water, faster.

With a couple more strokes of Hermione's hand, Draco came, biting down on Hermione's collarbone as his orgasm shook his body.

As he recovered, Draco licked and kissed Hermione's skin where he had bitten. Lifting his head he looked into Hermione's big brown eyes.

"Sorry, that's going to mark." He said, smirking at the blemish on her pale skin.

"You're not sorry." Hermione laughed. "You're pleased you've marked me."

"Maybe." Draco replied, kissing Hermione softly. "Now it's my turn to make you happy."

Just as Draco started trailing his hand down Hermione's body, her stomach rumbled loudly.

"Sorry." She said blushing furiously. "I haven't had anything but a quick sandwich all day."

"We better get you fed then." Draco said, smiling. "You'll need your energy later. If you can stay."

"I can stay, I had a fight with Harry so no one will be expecting to see me tonight."

"Good, let's go." Draco replied, wondering about her fight with Potter.

Hermione and Draco made their way back to the beach and their discarded clothes, picking up their belongings they walked the short distance into the large villa.

"What are we doing for dinner? I can cook if you want?" Hermione asked as they entered the house.

"I thought we'd go out if that's all right." Draco said as they walked up the stairs towards their bedroom.

"Yes, but won't it be dangerous if were seen together." Hermione asked.

"That's why I planned on taking you to a muggle restaurant." Draco replied, throwing his clothes onto the floor beside the bed.

"You're willingly going to a muggle restaurant, this should be fun." Hermione said as she made her way into the bathroom. "And pick up your clothes off the floor." She shouted as she turned on the shower.

Pulling a face Draco picked his clothes up and waving his wand sent them downstairs to the laundry. Hermione re-entered the room a short while later and Draco went to shower quickly while she dressed.

Both Hermione and Draco kept a small supply of clothes at the villa so it didn't take Hermione long to pick an outfit. Hermione picked a short light blue dress and teamed it with a white cardigan and white sandals.

Draco came out of the bathroom and dressed in black pants and a dark green shirt while Hermione was fixing her hair and hiding the love bite Draco had given her earlier.

"Are you ready?" Draco asked, slipping some muggle money into his trouser pocket and placing a spell on the pocket to stop it falling out.

"Yes, let's go." Hermione said, standing and walking over to her boyfriend.

"You look lovely." Draco said placing a chaste kiss on Hermione's lips.

"Thank you." Hermione said, smiling at her boyfriend as he took hold of her arm so he could apparate them to the restaurant.

* * *

"So what was your fight with Potter about?" Draco finally asked, he had waited until they had arrived at the restaurant and were served before asking the question that he had been wondering about since Hermione mentioned the fight earlier.

"A couple of things." Hermione shrugged. "Stuff the Order's doing and my safety."

"What's wrong with your safety?" Draco asked, suddenly concerned his girlfriend could be in danger.

"Well you see this afternoon a Death Eater threatened to come and pay me a visit." Hermione responded sarcastically, looking pointedly at Draco.

Draco looked embarrassed. " Sorry about that, I just wanted Potter to get the message and it seemed like a good way to get his attention."

"Well your threat had Harry trying to convince me to move into the headquarters permanently." Hermione sighed.

"I take it you refused." Draco said, pleased when Hermione nodded in response. "What else was going on?"

"You're so nosy." Hermione said jokingly as she cut into her chicken.

"Yes I am." Draco replied, eating a mouthful of his lasagne. "And I'm still waiting, Granger."

Hermione sighed, knowing he wasn't going to give up. "It was about the attacks the Order is carrying out, specifically the one you mentioned earlier."

"You don't agree with what they're doing?" Draco questioned, sensing Hermione's unease.

"No I don't, especially when the owner of the house is pregnant."

Draco watched as Hermione ate slowly, but clearly upset. "Sorry."

"What for?" She asked, looking up from her plate.

"For upsetting you, it clearly bothers you and I didn't realise." Draco sighed, feeling guilty for bringing the subject up.

"It's not you upsetting me." Hermione said angrily, taking a drink of her wine. "It's Harry's attitude towards the whole thing."

Draco waited for Hermione to speak again, he knew her well enough to recognise she was going to rant about Potter until she had gotten it all off her chest. He had witnessed her tangents regarding her idiotic friends numerous times during their school days.

"The whole idea was bad enough to begin with." Hermione began. "But to actually target someone who's pregnant, that's too much." Hermione took a drink as if to give her courage. "And do you want to know the best part, he doesn't even care."

Draco watched as Hermione finished her wine, waiting for her to continue.

"When I confronted him about it this afternoon, he just dismissed the fact he would have attacked a pregnant woman and her innocent unborn baby." Hermione paused, unsure if she should tell Draco what Harry had said about his friend, eventually deciding to tell everything. "He said it didn't matter about the baby, because the baby's father is a Death Eater and it's mother supports them."

Hermione watched as Draco eyes flashed with anger and briefly wondered if she had done the right thing in telling him about Harry's confession.

"Bastard." He hissed. "I didn't think Potter was that cold, to wish harm on an unborn baby."

"Neither did I." Hermione sighed sadly.

"Maybe we should change the subject." Draco suggested trying to relieve some of the tension that the topic of conversation had produced.

"How about, why you were so protective over Pansy." Hermione suggested, smirking at her boyfriend.

"She's my friend, and as you've pointed out heavily pregnant." Draco shrugged.

"So I've nothing to be jealous of." Hermione teased.

"Not unless there's something going on between Theo and you I should know about." Draco replied, relieved Hermione was back to her playful self and no longer sad and upset.

Hermione laughed and shook her head. "So nothing to be jealous of apart from the fact she's happily engaged and about to have a baby."

Draco watched Hermione as her playfulness vanished and she grew wistful.

"Are you really jealous of Pansy?" he asked, genuinely surprised she could be jealous of the former Slytherin.

"Yes." Hermione answered truthfully. "I was jealous of her in school and now I find myself jealous of her again."

"Why, nothing much happened between me and her at school." Draco said. "The only date we actually had, I ended up kissing you instead."

Hermione smiled at the memory of the Yule Ball where her and Draco first kissed. They had ended up under some enchanted mistletoe and had been forced to kiss, both had enjoyed it more than they should have but had refused to admit it to each other at the time, instead pretending they felt nothing at the kiss.

"You may not have really dated, but she could still spend time with you without having to hide or pretend to argue if anyone saw you together, like we did."

"That's pretty much what I thought of Potter and Weasley, all those years ago." Draco admitted. "Why the jealousy now though?"

"A few reasons, I suppose. All the same things as school still apply, though it doesn't bother me as much." Hermione explained. "The main reason is that she gets to be happily married and have a baby with the man she loves."

Hermione's confession stunned Draco into silence and they continued eating without speaking for several more minutes. Eventually they started talking again, but chose to stick to safer subjects like books and reliving old memories.

* * *

After dinner Draco apparated them back to the island and suggested they take a walk along the beach in the moonlight.

As they walked along the moonlit beach, Draco wondered how to broach the subject that abruptly ended conversation at dinner and had caused a wariness to appear between him and Hermione. Draco came to a sudden stop, halting Hermione with him as they were holding hands.

"I'm sorry for earlier." He said, suddenly feeling guilty for keeping Hermione away from a normal life.

"What for?" Hermione asked confused.

"For bring up the stuff with Pansy." Draco sighed. "And not being able to give you what she has."

"Maybe one day you will be able to." Hermione replied, cryptically.

Draco shook his head and continued walking. "We talked about this Hermione, there's no way we stand any chance of a normal future."

"Perhaps." Hermione shrugged, wrapping an arm around Draco's waist and snuggling into his side. "Who knows what the future will bring."

Draco wanted to say something to make Hermione realise their relationship was doomed, but couldn't bring himself to say anything. Instead he settled for continuing the walk in silence, Hermione snuggled into his side.

* * *

Once back at the villa Hermione and Draco headed straight for the bedroom, the earlier conversations forgotten as they got ready for bed. Draco was lying in bed wearing only his boxers when Hermione entered the room from the adjoining bathroom in her underwear.

"I think it's time you made it up to me for soaking me earlier." She purred, heading for the bed.

"Are you sure we're not going to be disturbed again?" Draco joked, pulling Hermione onto the bed with him.

"I think we'll be fine." Hermione smiled, as Draco rolled them so he was lying on top of her.

"Good, I don't like been interrupted twice in one day." Draco said before kissing Hermione passionately, his tongue snaking its way into her mouth.

Hermione wrapped her arms around Draco's neck, playing with the soft hair at the nape of his neck. Draco slid the straps of Hermione's bra down her shoulder as he began peppering light kisses down her neck and chest. Arching her back, Hermione allowed Draco to open her bra and fully remove the lacy material from her body.

Hermione moaned loudly and threw her head back, losing herself in the feeling of Draco kissing and caressing his way down her body. When he arrived at her soaked knickers, Draco quickly removed the flimsy material that was hindering his progress.

"Oh, god." Hermione moaned, her hand gripping the silk sheets beneath her as Draco started to lick and kiss her throbbing centre.

Draco expertly worked on Hermione, bringing her to the brink of orgasm using his mouth and fingers. Hermione writhed on the bed and moaned loudly when Draco sped up his actions, causing her to break apart with one final swirl of his talented tongue.

Draco continued to gently caress Hermione as she rode out her orgasm. Watching Hermione writhe in pleasure, never failed to turn Draco on, it was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen.

As Hermione was recovering, Draco started kissing his way back up his girlfriend's gorgeous body, causing her to moan softly when he paid extra attention to her breasts. Hermione dragged Draco's head back up to her face and kissed him deeply.

"I think you've made it up to me." Hermione whispered, breathlessly.

"I haven't finished yet." Draco said, smirking at his girlfriend.

"Good." Hermione purred as Draco positioned himself at her entrance.

Draco snapped his hips forward, burying himself deep in Hermione. Hermione dug her nails into Draco's shoulders as he began to thrust into her.

"Oh god, Draco." Hermione panted, moving her hips in time with Draco's thrusts. "More, please."

Draco obliged, wrapping one of Hermione's legs around his waist so he could enter her at a different angle which caused Hermione to moan louder and caused her drag her fingers down his spine.

"Fuck, Hermione." Draco grunted, snapping his hips faster as he felt both their orgasms approaching.

"Oh God! Draco!" Hermione cried, as he thrust into her extra hard causing her orgasm to hit her hard.

Hermione's orgasm caused Draco to reach his own climax, Hermione's name falling from his lips. Unable to support his weight any longer Draco collapsed on top of Hermione, trapping her petite frame underneath his larger body.

* * *

An hour and two more orgasms later, Hermione lay watching Draco as he slept. Gently Hermione reached out to her lover and carefully traced the faint scar that ran from Draco's right shoulder, over his chest and ended at his left side. The scar was a result from the curse Harry had used against Draco in sixth year, very nearly resulting in Draco's death.

Hermione wondered if she should have seen the darker part of Harry's nature back then, he had used a spell not knowing what it did and had then been unconcerned about the potential damage it could have caused. Hermione remembered the hours after the incident that had occurred between her friend and boyfriend in the girls bathroom, the only thing Harry was worried about was that his precious potions book might be confiscated. No matter how much Hermione had yelled at him about what he did, Harry merely shrugged and said it was only Malfoy he had hurt, as though it didn't matter he had nearly killed him. Maybe she should have seen then that Harry didn't care if he hurt someone who he considered the enemy, but hindsight was a wonderful thing, and at the time Hermione had been too worried about Draco to think too deeply about her friends behaviour.

Deciding not to dwell on her friend, Hermione snuggled into Draco and settled down to sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N - Just a short chapter before Hermione heads to the Manor in the next one and all the drama begins.**

* * *

Draco entered the kitchen of the villa the next morning to find Hermione making breakfast and singing along to the radio.

"Damn, Granger, you really can't hold a note can you." Draco teased from his place in the doorway.

Hermione turned, stuck her tongue out at her boyfriend then returned to making breakfast, singing louder than before. Draco smiled, pleased to see Hermione happy, and made his way to the table situated on the terrace.

"Thanks." Draco told Hermione as she placed a plate of bacon and scrambled egg in front of him.

"You're welcome." Hermione smiled, biting into her toasted fruit bread. "How long can you stay for?"

"Most of the day." Draco replied between mouthfuls of his breakfast. "I'm not expected anywhere until dinner tonight."

"Good, it'll be nice to spend some time together." Hermione smiled.

"I was thinking you could help me with some shopping I needed to do." Draco said, picking up his cup of black coffee.

"Sure, where were you planning to go. We might be recognised in the wizarding world, even in Italy."

"That's why I planned on going shopping in a muggle town."

Hermione raised her eyebrow. "That'll be the second time in as many days you've set foot in the muggle world."

"I know terrible isn't it." Draco mock shuddered. "However will I cope."

"What are we going shopping for?" Hermione said.

"It's my mother's birthday next month and Pansy's having some sort of baby thing in a few weeks, so I apparently need to get her something as the future godfather."

"You're going to be the baby's godfather?" Hermione questioned.

"Yeah, have I not mentioned it?" Draco replied casually, finishing his coffee.

"No." Hermione said. "But it does explain why you were extra mad about what happened at Pansy's house."

Draco and Hermione finished breakfast, and headed inside to get dressed.

* * *

Hours later Hermione and Draco were back in the villa, they had spent the morning in a small Italian muggle town shopping and had lunch in a small café near the river. Draco had found a onyx necklace for his mother and had bought three bags full of things for Pansy's baby. Hermione had warned him he was spoiling the unborn baby but Draco just smirked and told her being spoiled was fun, and he intended to do so with his future god son or daughter.

Since their return to the villa, they had lain out by the pool talking and reading. Draco was currently lying watching Hermione as she lay sprawled on her stomach, totally engrossed in the book she was reading. Knowing it was nearly time to be leaving, Draco reluctantly stood up from his sun lounger drawing Hermione's attention.

"Where are you going?" She asked, briefly looking up from her book.

"To get dressed, I'll have to be leaving soon." He replied, not wanting to leave Hermione.

Hermione looked at her watch and swore under her breath. "I didn't realise it was that late."

Hermione quickly gathered her things and together her and Draco entered the villa to start preparing to return to their lives on opposite sides of the war.

"I'm not sure when I'll be able to see you again." Draco said when they were ready to leave the island. "There's a big meeting tomorrow night and I don't know if The Dark Lord has any plans for me."

"Okay." Hermione replied, seemingly unfazed by her boyfriend's words.

"Bye." Draco said, wrapping his arms around Hermione and giving her a long kiss. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Hermione replied, smiling at Draco. "Hopefully I'll see you soon."

"Hopefully." Draco responded, before apparating away with a loud crack.

Hermione watched Draco leave, hoping he wouldn't be too mad with her tomorrow night. Checking the wards one last time, Hermione apparated back to her flat, she had plenty of plans to be making.

* * *

Hermione sat down at her desk and composed a short letter to Severus asking him about timings for the meeting the following night. Sealing the envelope, Hermione waved her wand over the parchment several times before the letter shimmered and disappeared from her desk. As the letter vanished, Hermione heard her floo network sound.

Heading to the front room she spotted the head of Ginny Weasley sitting in the green flames in her fireplace.

"Hey, 'Mione. Can I some through." Ginny asked.

"Yes, of course." Hermione replied, cursing herself for not reactivating her wards upon her arrival home a hour ago.

A few seconds later, Ginny emerged from the fire, brushing soot from her clothing.

"We've been trying to get through since yesterday, where have you been?" Ginny asked, the moment she landed in Hermione's front room.

"Nowhere." Hermione replied, sitting on the settee next to a sleeping Crookshanks. "I just didn't want to see anyone."

Ginny sat down in the chair opposite Hermione. "Harry and Ron told me what happened yesterday afternoon, you're not safe here Hermione."

"Of course I'm safe, my wards clearly work well enough if you couldn't get through until now." Hermione sniffed.

"Yes but we didn't try to get past them." Ginny said. "Do you honestly think Malfoy would just give up if he wanted to enter."

"Well if Harry doesn't anger him, then I'll be fine." Hermione snapped at the redhead.

"Sure that'll work." Ginny said sarcastically. "Be realistic Hermione, if Malfoy knows where you live sooner or later he's going to come and find you."

"I'm not scared of Malfoy." Hermione replied truthfully.

"You should be." Ginny stated. "He's pure evil."

Hermione glared at Ginny as she insulted her boyfriend.

"Why are you here Ginny?" Hermione asked coldly.

"We want you to come to dinner tonight." Ginny sighed. "Me trying to persuade you you're not safe was an added bonus."

"I'm busy tonight, so tell Molly I'll not be there for dinner." Hermione snapped, not wanting to spend time with Harry.

"You can't stay away just because you and Harry had a fight."

"Did he tell you what we fought about?" Hermione asked the redhead.

"Yes, he said you refused to move into Grimmauld Place and you were upset with some of his tactics." Ginny responded.

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "That's all he said?"

Ginny looked slightly uncomfortable. "I did overhear him telling Ron you said something horrible about him, but I don't know what."

"And?" Hermione said waiting for the rest of what Ginny had overheard.

"Harry also said you'd be back to apologise when you realised how appalling you behaved towards him." Ginny admitted quietly.

"How appalling I behaved." Hermione yelled. "Harry's the one who's acting appallingly, I just told him the truth."

"What happened?" Ginny asked, intrigued at the contents of the fight.

Hermione then told Ginny about the rest of their fight, interested in hearing which side the fiery Weasley would take.

"You told him he was as bad as Voldemort?" Ginny asked, sounding utterly disgusted.

"Yes." Hermione responded, disappointed Ginny didn't seem to see her point of view. "Harry's being just as prejudice as Voldemort is."

"Harry's just fighting against the scum that started this war." Ginny said angrily, standing up from her chair. "He only attacks those that deserve it."

"No he doesn't, he attacks people for what house they were in at school." Hermione forcefully told Ginny. "He doesn't even check they have links to Voldemort."

"Harry's right, you're going soft." Ginny sneered. "Of course they have links to Voldemort, they're Slytherins. There's a war going on, Hermione, you need to toughen up."

Ginny stalked towards the fire and entered the fireplace, leaving Hermione's apartment in a flash of green flames.

Hermione stood still in her front room, taken aback by her friends lack of concern over the recent attacks. Clearly the mind set in the Order was all very similar, if you're a former Slytherin you're evil, end of story.

Hermione was more sure than ever she was doing the right thing in leaving the Order. The way things were going if Harry killed Voldemort, all former Slytherins would be treated like outcasts even if they hadn't done anything, it would be no different from if Voldemort won and Muggleborns had no rights. Hopefully if she helped Voldemort win, he wouldn't be able to deny that Muggleborns are completely worthless and eventually she might be able to regain some rights for them.

Shaking her head, trying to stop herself from getting carried away, Hermione decided it was best she concentrated on getting accepted by Voldemort, before trying to change his view points on Muggleborns.

Hermione headed for the spare room and her desk, hoping to find a response from Severus. When she sat down, she was pleased to see the envelope she had enchanted was sitting on her desk. Ripping it open she read the few lines Severus had scrawled.

* * *

_H.G._

_The meeting starts at seven, I suggest you make your entrance around half past._

_Good Luck._

_S.S._

* * *

Hermione smiled at the letter, anticipation stirring inside her. Now everything was set she wished it was time for her grand entrance, waiting until tomorrow would be torture.

Hyped up about upcoming events and having nothing else to do for the evening after turning down the offer of dinner at Grimmauld Place, Hermione decided to watch a couple of films and order takeaway. Hermione quickly phoned her order into the nearby Chinese restaurant and went for a quick shower before it arrived. When her dinner arrived, Hermione curled up on her settee with her Chow Mein and wine and proceeded to watch three films in order to take her mind of the following night.


	12. Chapter 12

Hermione paced her kitchen nervously, she had barely slept all night and had awoken in anticipation of the nights events, at the crack of dawn. Hermione felt a tickling at her feet and looked down to find Crookshanks rubbing himself against her leg.

"Hey, Crooks." Hermione crooned, picking up the marmalade cat. "I might be gone a while after today, if I can come back. I'm going to leave you with Mrs Collins over the hall, so be good."

Hermione carried on talking to her cat, knowing his part Kneazle nature meant he understood some of what she was saying. Putting Crookshanks down, Hermione gathered his food bowl and food from the cupboard and placed it into a bag.

"Come on, Crooks." Hermione said, scooping the large cat into her arms and heading out of her front door.

Balancing Crookshanks and the bag of his belongings in one hand, Hermione knocked on the door opposite hers with the other.

"Hello, Hermione." Mrs Collins greeted as she opened the door to the young witch.

"Hello, Mrs Collins, thanks for looking after Crookshanks for me." Hermione said smiling at the old woman.

Mrs Collins was a widow in her sixties and she had lived opposite Hermione ever since she had moved into her flat, three and a half years ago.

"You're welcome dear." Mrs Collins said, gesturing for Hermione to enter the small flat. "He's a lovely thing."

Hermione smiled at the reference to Crookshanks being lovely, he was a parky cat and actually took to very few people. Apart from her and Mrs Collins, the only other person Crookshanks had really taken to was Draco, he disliked Harry and absolutely despised Ron.

"Here's his food and bowl." Hermione said, handing Mrs Collins the bag while she placed Crookshanks on the floor. "Hopefully I'll be able to come back for him soon."

"You just come back when you can, dear." Mrs Collins said kindly. "We'll be waiting."

"Thank you so much." Hermione said as she left the old woman's flat, with tears brimming in her eyes.

Hermione re-entered her own flat which felt strangely empty without her large cat prowling around. Hermione didn't know what would happen after tonight and didn't want to risk Crookshanks being abandoned, so she had asked her neighbour to take him in for a while. Hermione had told Mrs Collins her boyfriend had been hurt and needed looking after and she didn't know when she would be returning, the old woman had kindly told Hermione she would look after Crookshanks for however long it was needed.

Hermione headed for her bedroom and changed into more appropriate clothes for breaking and entering. Once she was set, she checked the flat over, making sure everything looked normal in case anyone from the Order broke through her wards. Satisfied she drew her wand and apparated to the woods outside Malfoy Manor.

* * *

Hermione checked her watch, it was four o'clock in the afternoon. Carefully she began to check that no new wards had been added to the property since her brief visit a few days earlier, after her exploits at Hogwarts she had discovered three new wards on the Manor's property. One of the wards had her extremely worried that she wouldn't be able to break through it, but fortunately for Hermione a night in the dark, working hard led her to the solution.

Hermione was tempted to remove some of the wards now, but a quick check on a particular one showed that Draco was inside the property lines, and it was too big a risk to try to deactivate them while he might notice. Hermione was hoping he would be distracted enough during the night's meeting, so that he wouldn't notice the brief flicker of the wards when she tapped into their magic, but she had no idea what he was currently doing, so he might notice the wards drop.

Satisfied she wouldn't have any extra wards to deal with, Hermione apparated to a nearby town and headed into a coffee shop to pass the time until she was due to head back to the Manor.

Six thirty found Hermione back at The Manor, waiting for The Death Eaters to arrive. She had no idea how the wards worked on nights when meetings were held, she wasn't sure if they stayed in place or dropped briefly.

Hermione found out at quarter to seven when the first attendee arrived, the Death Eater apparated outside the Manor's boundary line and walked calmly up the front drive towards the large house. After several Death Eaters had arrived, seemingly passing through the wards unnoticed, Hermione decided she needed answers. When the next person arrived she tuned into the wards as the Death Eater approached the boundary, when he stepped over the boundary, one of the wards scanned his body. Hermione suddenly realised how the wards worked at meeting times, one of the wards was a magical scanner, it looked for a Dark Mark on a person and let them pass through freely if one was detected.

Hermione waited till ten past seven, and she was sure the meeting would have started, before starting to break the wards. Moving quickly but carefully, Hermione disabled the wards one by one, starting with the older ones and working her way towards the ones which might alert Draco to a presence on the property. Fifteen minutes later, Hermione dropped the last ward, she hurried onto the property before they reactivated themselves two minutes later.

Quickly Hermione made her way towards the large house in the distance, making sure to avoid the white peacock's that roamed the property. Draco had once told her the birds were vicious and would attack without provocation, he himself had a small scar on his right ankle where one of the birds had bitten him when he was ten years old. Arriving at the Manor, Hermione cast a spell to detect all living presence in the building. She discovered there was one person and one animal, probably a dog, in a room nearby, but over the other side of the Manor there was a room filled with multiple presences. Hermione made her way around the building and checked her watch, it was now twenty to eight, she was ten minutes later than planned but hopefully it wouldn't matter.

Hermione quickly found the room she wanted and located a window in the room next to it to break into the Manor. Opening the window and silently climbing into the room, Hermione found herself in what looked to be a storage room, it had boxes piled high in the corners and the room while spotlessly clean it looked unused and unlived in. Moving through the room Hermione headed to the door, stopping before she left the room to cast multiple protective charms on herself as a precaution. Hopefully Voldemort would be intrigued enough by her presence that he wouldn't order an attack on her, if he did she hoped the protective charms would give her enough time to escape.

Entering the deserted hallway, Hermione stood outside the double doors leading into a room full of Death Eaters, she could clearly hear the murmur of voices through the door. Taking a deep breath to compose herself, Hermione stepped forward to enter the room and face her future.

* * *

Draco got dressed for the meeting, his mind wandering to earlier in the day when Pansy and Theo had paid him a visit.

He had given them the baby things he had bought in Italy and watching Pansy coo over the tiny outfits and toys made Draco feel guilty for not being able to give Hermione the same thing. By the end of the visit, Draco found himself extremely jealous of Theo and Pansy's happiness. Watching Theo fuss over his fiancée and unborn child, made Draco long for what he couldn't possibly have with Hermione. For the first time in his life he realised he actually wanted children, but only if they were half Hermione's, which in Draco's mind was an impossible dream.

Draco eventually had to go to the meeting, leaving his brooding behind for later in the night.

Entering the dining room, Draco headed straight to his usual seat and sat down to wait for the Dark Lord. As he waited he noticed that Severus appeared tense and distracted, but before he had a chance to question his godfather Voldemort entered the room, Nagini trailing after him as usual.

Voldemort started the meeting by checking on various Death Eaters and tasks he had assigned them. Draco was barely listening when he felt the Manor wards shimmer, looking at Lucius he noticed his father hadn't seemed to notice the tiny shift that lasted a minute or two at the most. Frowning at the shimmer, Draco wondered whether to inform The Dark Lord or not. Before he had the chance, Voldemort turned to look at him.

"Draco, how did your little raid go the other afternoon?" Voldemort asked. "Are we going to have any more trouble with The Order?"

"I don't know about that." Draco said. "But I did threaten to do worse if they didn't stop."

"What makes you think threatening Potter will work?" Voldemort asked, curious about his protégée's method's.

"Because I didn't threaten Potter." Draco replied, looking Voldemort straight in the eye. "I threatened Granger."

"The Mudblood?" Voldemort questioned, still intrigued. "Why her?"

"Because it's the best way to get to Potter and Weasley." Draco shrugged. "It worked great in school, any time I insulted Granger, they would get mad and start sending hexes my way, causing them to get into trouble for attacking me. I figured if I threaten her safety they'll be too worried about her to continue the attacks."

"Interesting, let's hope it works." Voldemort said, before moving on to the next person to grill.

While The Dark Lord was grilling a lower ranked Death Eater, Draco concentrated on his godfather. He noticed Severus was distracted and tense when he entered the room and he had watched him get more and more agitated in the last five minutes or so.

Draco was mulling over what the problem with Severus could be when the double doors of the dining room flew open. Draco turned and froze, there standing in the doorway looking totally unflustered by all the evil looks she was getting, was Hermione.

"Don't." Voldemort ordered as several of his followers raised their wand's at the interruption.

"Miss Granger, we meet again." Voldemort greeted the witch, intrigued by her presence but wary of any impending threat. "You're developing a nasty habit of breaking through our wards."

Hermione smirked slightly at Voldemort who was watching her warily. "It wasn't easy, they're very tricky. It's taken me weeks to figure them out."

Draco watched intrigued by what was happening, the shimmer of the wards earlier now making sense. What didn't make sense was Hermione's presence in The Manor, interrupting a meeting of Death Eaters.

"Why? Why go to all the effort to break in at Hogwarts and now here?" Voldemort asked, unsure of how to respond to the young woman who didn't seem the least bit intimidated by him.

"I wanted to impress you." Hermione replied bluntly.

The whole room looked on in silence. Draco turned to look at his godfather and saw he was not surprised by the events unfolding around him. Suddenly it all made sense to Draco, Severus knew Hermione would be showing up at the meeting, that's what the twitchiness was about earlier. He also knew about Hogwarts, that's how she entered his office and why the portraits were mysteriously absent.

"Why would you want to impress me?" Voldemort asked, genuinely confused by the Mudbloods strange behaviour.

At The Dark Lord's question, Draco snuck a look at Hermione, catching her eye he suddenly knew what her reply would be. Draco sat stunned, he was sure his girlfriend was just about to put both their lives on the line with her answer, he just hoped it worked.

"Because I want to join you." Hermione replied. "I want to help you win the war."

* * *

**A/N- This is probably my final update this year, so I'd like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.**

**I'd also like to thank everyone who has supported this story, especially my regular reviewers – Dramioneluv, articcat621, shaymars and XDramioneLoverx. Your support and regular reviews has really meant a lot to me. Thank you all and see you in the New Year.**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N- I know I said I would update in the New Year, but this chapter was ready so I thought I would update early. Enjoy!**

* * *

Hermione stood perfectly still in the dining room of Malfoy Manor, she looked totally unfazed by the dozens of Death Eaters staring at her in shock. Hermione however wasn't unfazed, the longer Voldemort stood watching her the more nervous she became. She was desperate to look at Severus for support but didn't dare tear her eyes away from the man she was talking to. Hermione continued to stare at Voldemort waiting for a response, not allowing her eyes to move slightly to his right where Draco was sat. A few minutes ago he had caught her eye and Hermione knew he realised what she was doing seconds before she announced her intentions to Voldemort, unfortunately Hermione couldn't tell what he thought of her plan because his face was blank and unreadable.

"Why would you want to join me? Why would you want to help me destroy Potter?" Voldemort finally asked. "How do I know this isn't a trap?"

"I disagree with a lot of the Order's tactics and I feel there's more for me on your side." Hermione replied, making sure to conceal her relationship with Draco for the time being. "And we both know it's very easy for you to read my mind and see if this is a trap."

Voldemort stared at the young woman in shock, she had essentially given him permission to enter her mind, which he decided to take full advantage of.

Hermione felt Voldemort enter her mind and start rooting around in her memories. She had already made sure all the recent arguments with Harry and the Order were at the forefront of her mind. After several minutes she felt Voldemort retreating from her mind.

"It appears you speak the truth, you are very disenchanted with Potter and his followers." Voldemort said slowly, debating over his options regarding the girl. "However, I don't think it's enough to prompt your change of loyalties or secure them to me."

Hermione watched as Voldemort sat back down in his chair. Hermione was worried that her plan was failing, he didn't seem intrigued enough to dig deeper. Hermione opened her mouth to speak, but a death stare from Voldemort quickly had her shutting it again.

"I do however feel, there's something you're not telling me." Voldemort said, giving Hermione hope her plan could still work. "You're not stupid, quite the opposite in fact. You know I'd never accept you without some sort of reassurance that you're loyal to me. I take it you have such reassurance."

"Yes, I do." Hermione replied, working hard to keep the quiver from her voice.

"Let's see then." Voldemort replied, entering Hermione's mind for the second time.

Hermione made sure to keep her more intimate memories of Draco hidden, but freely allowed Voldemort to witness enough to prove they loved each other.

Voldemort withdrew from Hermione's mind and sat back deep in thought. Hermione wondered if she had just sentenced both her and Draco to death, Voldemort was the most unreadable person she had ever encountered and she had no idea what was happening inside his head.

"The meeting's over, leave now." Voldemort instructed his assembled troops. "Draco, Bella, Lucius and Severus you stay."

Hermione stood nervously as Death Eaters walked past her to the exit, some muttering insults at her under their breath. Voldemort waited until it was just the six of them before he spoke again.

"That would be an excellent reason for your loyalty." Voldemort finally said. "If, of course it's true."

"It's true." Hermione said, ready to fight for her future with Draco.

"We'll see, shall we." Voldemort replied. "Lucius, call a house elf."

"Why?" Lucius asked, not understanding what was happening.

"Don't question me, just do it." Voldemort hissed, his eyes flashing angrily at the blond man.

"Yes, my Lord." Lucius hurriedly said, not wanting to anger his master. "Wispy."

With a crack a small elf appeared next to Lucius, awaiting instructions.

"Take Miss Granger and settle her in a guest room." Voldemort ordered the elf.

Wispy looked at Lucius for confirmation before moving over to where Hermione stood.

"That's it, you're not going to tell me if I can join you?" Hermione questioned, shocked at the turn of events.

"I have yet to decide." Voldemort shrugged. "Wispy, you may go now and take Miss Granger to Draco's wing of the house."

Grabbing onto Hermione's arm the house elf whisked Hermione away from the dining room.

* * *

A few seconds later Hermione and the elf appeared in a large bedroom decorated in deep purple.

"There you go, Miss." Wispy said, before apparating away with a crack.

Hermione looked around the large room, the furniture looked old and expensive. There was a large four poster bed covered in damson coloured satin sheets, an old antique desk and chair and the best part for Hermione was a large bookshelf crammed with books. Hermione decided to explore the rest of the room before looking at the books. There was a large window that looked out over the stunning grounds of the Manor and three doors leading from the room.

Hermione walked to the first door and opened it to find a large walk in wardrobe, that was empty of any clothing. Closing the wardrobe she walked over to the other side of the room and opened the second door, revealing a large bathroom decorated in pale blue. The room was far bigger than her small bathroom at home, it had a large bathtub and a shower in the corner of the room.

Leaving the bathroom, Hermione decided to have a peek out of the room and headed to the doors she assumed led to the corridor outside. Opening the door, Hermione immediately heard a loud hiss and looking down found Nagini guarding her exit.

"It's okay, I'm not going anywhere." Hermione told the snake, even though she knew it didn't understand because she couldn't speak Parseltongue.

Hermione quickly retreated back into the room, not wanting to anger the large snake. Heading to the bookshelf, Hermione wondered what was happening downstairs after her exit.

* * *

Draco sat nervously waiting for Voldemort to speak, five minutes had passed since Wispy had taken Hermione off to a guest room. He could feel both his father's and aunt's confusion on the night events.

"I want to speak to Draco alone, wait in the next room ." Voldemort finally spoke.

Lucius, Bella and Severus made their way out of the room, both Lucius and Bella looking back with curiosity.

"I think you know what Miss Granger showed me the second time." Voldemort said, turning to face Draco.

"I can make a good guess." Draco replied evenly, unsure of where the conversation was headed.

"How long?"

"How long what?"

"How long have you been together, Miss Granger's memories were scattered fragments, so I couldn't work out how long you've been together."

Draco paused, unsure if the truth would help or hinder them. "Since fourth year at school."

Voldemort's face briefly registered surprise, but he quickly schooled his features back into a mask of indifference.

"That's a long time, quite a lot has happened since then, it must be serious to have survived so long."

Draco merely nodded at Voldemort's statement. Draco sat waiting for Voldemort's next move, still unsure of whether him and Hermione would survive the night.

"Can she be trusted?" Voldemort finally asked. "Will she stay loyal to me."

"Yes, she would never have come here and risked our lives if she wasn't serious." Draco said, hoping to convince Voldemort to allow Hermione to join them.

"You love her." Voldemort said, it wasn't a question merely an observation he had made.

"Yes." Draco replied simply.

"You may leave." Voldemort instructed. "I will let you and Miss Granger know of my decision in the morning."

Draco stood and left the room not speaking, he knew Voldemort well enough to know he had already made a decision and nothing he could say would influence it. Heading towards his wing of the Manor, Draco hoped The Dark Lord's decision wouldn't result in either his or Hermione's death.

* * *

After sitting alone for several minutes, Voldemort called Lucius, Bella and Severus back into the room.

"I've made a decision." Voldemort announced as the three Death Eaters settled into their seats. "I'm going to allow Miss Granger to join us."

"She's a Mudblood, she can't be trusted." Bella exclaimed, she was the only person other than Draco that would dare speak back to Voldemort.

As Bella was talking Lucius nodded in agreement with his sister-in-law.

"I've made my decision. I believe she will be loyal to us." Voldemort announced in a tone that left little room for argument. "Besides, she is extremely talented and will be a valuable asset against Potter."

Bella merely snorted at Voldemort's statement, unwilling to cross him again.

"May I ask what leads you to believe she will be loyal?" Lucius spoke up hesitantly.

"Because we have more to offer her then the light." Voldemort said. "Namely your son."

Voldemort watched with a slight smirk as Lucius opened and closed his mouth like a fish, unsure of how to respond.

"You're suggesting we just give Draco to her?" Bella asked, not understanding what Voldemort meant. "Like a reward for joining us, I don't understand."

"No my dear, what I'm saying is that Draco and Miss Granger have been having a relationship for some time." Voldemort said, causing Lucius to turn a nasty shade of purple. "That's how I know she'll stay loyal, it's the only way she gets to be with Draco."

"No, I won't have it. My son will not be with a mudblood." Lucius roared, standing quickly from his chair, the force knocking it back onto the floor.

"You have no choice Lucius." Voldemort told the blond man. "She will win the war for us, she will be a great asset and Draco can be with her if he chooses."

Lucius stood staring at Voldemort, his anger at Draco's relationship with Hermione warring with his fear of The Dark Lord. Eventually his fear won out and he righted his chair and sat himself back down.

"Severus you've been very quiet." Voldemort said turning to the headmaster. "Do you wish to share your opinion."

"I think Hermione will be a great asset to you." Severus told Voldemort. "I also think she'll make Draco very happy."

Lucius glared at his old friend across the table, suddenly realising Severus had known of the relationship long before the night's meeting.

"That's settled then, tomorrow I'll let Miss Granger know she's officially one of us and then she will help us destroy Potter and the Order." Voldemort said standing up and ending the discussion.

"Lucius, leave them alone tonight." Voldemort ordered the tall blond as he left. "I know you don't approve, but you better get used to it. If Draco wants Miss Granger he can have her, understand."

"Yes." Lucius forced out, he was extremely unhappy with the way Voldemort had more say over his son's life than he did, but he knew it would only cause unwelcome trouble if he argued.

"Good, I'm pleased we understand each other." Voldemort said, smiling evilly at Lucius before turning and leaving the room, Bella following close behind him.

* * *

After Voldemort and Bella's departure, Lucius turned to his old friend.

"You knew, and you never told me." He hissed accusingly at Severus.

"Yes I did, I didn't tell you because I knew you would try to stop it." Severus responded.

"Of course I would have, it's not right." Lucius stormed at Severus.

"Just because you don't approve doesn't make it wrong." Severus explained. "Draco's happy, that should be all you care about."

"Are you implying I don't care about my own son." Lucius hissed.

Severus shook his head and headed towards the door. "No Lucius, I'm saying you care more about your beliefs than you do about Draco."

With one final look at his friend, Severus headed out of the dining room, towards the large front doors of the Manor. As he opened the door to leave the house he spotted Narcissa Malfoy watching him from the stairs.

"What's going on Severus?" The elegant blonde asked as she walked down the few stairs until she reached the bottom.

"Lucius will explain, maybe you can make him see sense." Severus said, knowing Narcissa would support Draco wholeheartedly in whatever he decided to do with his life. "Bye, Narcissa."

"Goodbye, Severus." Narcissa said before heading into the dining room in search of her husband.


	14. Chapter 14

Once in his wing of the Manor, it didn't take Draco long to find the room Hermione was staying in, the large snake guarding her door was a major clue. Stepping over Nagini, Draco opened the door to find his girlfriend sitting looking out of the window, a book in her lap. Hermione's head snapped up and whipped around at his entrance, but unsure of his mood she stayed seated. Closing the door behind him, Draco moved so he was standing in the middle of the large room.

"What the hell, were you thinking back there." Draco hissed at his girlfriend. "Do you have any idea how much danger you just put yourself in?"

"Yes, I'm not stupid." Hermione replied, trying to keep calm. Nothing would be resolved if both her and Draco were angry.

"Really? It wasn't your smartest move back there." Draco snorted.

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked, tilting her head to the side. "I may have just secured our future together."

"And you may have gotten us both killed."

"I decided it was a risk worth taking." Hermione shrugged.

Draco just stared at his girlfriend, shocked by how calm she appeared.

"Have you really thought this through, Hermione?" Draco asked, sitting down at the foot of the bed.

"Of course I have." Hermione replied, moving to sit next to Draco. "I've thought of nothing else for weeks."

"Why this though, joining The Dark Lord, surely it would be easier for me to join the light." Draco pondered, unsure of the reasoning behind Hermione's decision.

"It wouldn't, I thought about it. Harry would never accept you or your help, even if he did he would then make sure you were either killed or sent to Azkaban after, so we'd be no better off." Hermione explained, taking hold of Draco's hand. " Besides you've got plenty of people you love on this side, I don't on mine. It's not fair to ask you to give up your entire family."

"What about Potter and Weasel?" Draco asked, curious about how his girlfriend felt about the idiots she called friends.

"I care about them, but even that's becoming harder to do lately with their actions." Hermione replied sadly, there was a time she would have done anything for Harry and Ron, not anymore though it was time to put herself first.

"Even so, will you be able to cope with the fact you'll be responsible for their downfall?" Draco asked.

"Yes, I know my actions will lead to Voldemort winning and probably Harry's death." Hermione said.

"And you can deal with that? Knowing you're responsible for his death?" Draco questioned, determined Hermione was made aware of the seriousness of what she was doing.

"Yes, I've been through all this. Why are you being so hard on me? I thought you would be pleased." Hermione said, upset Draco wasn't reacting with enthusiasm about her defection.

"I am, if this works." Draco reassured Hermione. "I don't want to end up with a shell of a girlfriend if the guilt becomes too much for you."

"It won't. I'm not thrilled by the fact I'm going to be responsible for Harry's death but I'll deal with it." Hermione told Draco.

Draco didn't respond, it seemed Hermione had an answer for every one of his concerns.

"Would you really have joined the Order for me, and given up your family?" Hermione asked, after several moments of silence.

"Yes, I'd do anything for you." Draco told his girlfriend.

Hermione smiled and gave Draco a quick kiss. "I'd do anything for you, that's why I'm doing this."

"Hermione, are you sure?" Draco asked looking into Hermione's big brown eyes. "I don't want you regretting this and then you end up resenting me for making you change sides."

"You're not making me change sides." Hermione insisted. "I'm choosing to change sides, so we can have a future together."

"As long as you know, if The Dark Lord agrees to you joining tomorrow there's no going back." Draco said. "Tonight's your only chance to change your mind."

"Do you want me to change my mind?" Hermione asked, unsure of Draco's motives in questioning her decision.

"No." Draco admitted. "I want you with me. I just want to make sure you'll be alright after The Dark Lord's won and everything you've done to help him sinks in."

"I will be." Hermione said, leaning her head against Draco's shoulder. "Being with you will make everything bearable."

Draco put his arm around Hermione and hugged her, not entirely convinced she was prepared for the consequences of joining the dark. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Hermione remembered what Draco had said about Voldemort deciding her future tomorrow.

"What did you mean when you said if The Dark Lord allows me to join tomorrow, won't we find out tonight?" Hermione asked, raising her head to look at Draco.

"No, he said he'll let us know tomorrow." Draco explained.

"So, he hasn't decided yet." Hermione said, wondering what his decision would be.

"No, he's decided. He's just making us wait." Draco told Hermione, who looked shocked at the tactics.

"Why? If he's already decided, why make us wait?" Hermione asked.

Draco chuckled softly. "It's what he does, it's to make us nervous and worried about tomorrow. The Dark Lord likes to play his little psychological games."

Hermione frowned, distinctly unimpressed. "How do you know he's made his decision?"

"I can tell, I know him well enough to know he rarely thinks things over for a long time, he prefers to act on gut instinct."

"What do you think he's decided?" Hermione asked, the nerves starting to kick in.

"I don't know, he didn't seem mad about us, but I don't know if that means anything or not." Draco said, for the first time in nearly three years he wasn't privy to The Dark Lord's thoughts.

"So all we can do is wait." Hermione said, lying back on the bed.

"Yes, we just wait." Draco said, looking at Hermione.

Draco suddenly stood and pulled Hermione up off the bed she was sprawled all over.

"What are you doing?" Hermione asked, annoyed she'd been disturbed, she was just getting comfortable.

"Going to bed." Draco replied, moving towards the door still holding Hermione's hand and dragging her with him.

"The bed's there, and you just got me out of it."

"I'm not going to sleep in a guest bedroom in my own house." Draco said, shaking his head at Hermione's foolishness.

"But Nagini's guarding my door, I can't leave." Hermione protested.

Draco just grinned over his shoulder and opened the door, revealing the snake lying curled up outside the door. Hermione cautiously followed Draco into the corridor, stepping over Nagini. As Draco casually started wandering down the long corridor, Hermione looked back to find Nagini slithering along behind them. Reaching a pair of large double doors at the end of the corridor, Draco stopped.

"She'll just guard here instead." Draco said, gesturing to the snake who was already curling herself up again.

With one last look at the snake, Hermione followed Draco into his room, stopping in shock as she took in the large room. In all the years they had been together Hermione had never seen Draco's room but had always imagined it to be decorated in green's, silver's and black's, namely very Slytherin. Instead the room was a pale beige colour and the large four poster bed was covered in dark sapphire covers. The curtains around the large window that led to a balcony matched the bed covers and all the wooden furniture including a desk and a dresser were made of a light wood, instead of the dark wood Hermione was expecting.

"You look shocked, Granger." Draco smirked, closing the door.

"I am, I always expected your room to be some sort of Slytherin shrine." Hermione laughed.

"I'm not that cliché." Draco grinned, removing his shoes and jacket.

Hermione continued to look around the room, noticing something she had expected to find was missing.

"Why don't you have any books?" Hermione asked, she knew Draco loved to read almost as much as her.

"They're all in the library." Draco shrugged. "Except for the one I'm reading." He pointed to his bedside table where a large book sat.

"It's being a long day, I'm going for a shower." Draco said, stripping his clothes off and heading to the bathroom. "Want to come?" He asked, poking his head back round the door and winking at Hermione.

Hermione grinned and followed her boyfriend into his en-suite bathroom.

* * *

Over the opposite end of The Manor, in their personal wing Lucius and Narcissa were in their bedroom. Lucius was pacing the floor in front of the window muttering and cursing while Narcissa sat in bed reading her book.

"Pacing and muttering, won't do any good. The decision's being made." Narcissa told her husband, putting her wizarding romance novel down on the bedside table.

"Yes, the decision's being made. But not by me." Lucius ranted, outraged that The Dark Lord had interfered in his family' personal business. "It's one thing letting her join as a Death Eater, but what right does he have to say Draco can be with her romantically."

"I don't think that decision was The Dark Lord's." Narcissa said calmly. "That was Draco's choice."

"He could have stopped it. Instead it seems like he's encouraging it." Lucius hissed. "I don't understand."

"Well, I think he's accepted it for two reasons." Narcissa explained, gesturing for Lucius to join her on the bed.

When he did she took his hand and started tracing soothing patterns on it with her thumb.

"I know you don't like it, but he does care for Draco. He just wants him to be happy." Narcissa said, choosing her words carefully. She knew her husband was jealous of the fact Draco was closer to both Severus and Voldemort than he was to him.

Feeling Lucius tense up, Narcissa snuggled in next to him hoping her proximity would calm him, which it did after a few seconds.

"You said you thought there were two reasons." Lucius prompted, when he had calmed slightly.

"Yes, I think the other is more rational than emotional. If Draco really loves this girl, and I think he does, he might be tempted to change sides himself." Narcissa said, ignoring her husband's snort at the idea. "The Dark Lord knows that if that happens, Draco could bring him down easily, he won't want that."

"Draco wouldn't change sides." Lucius said, expressing his opinion now his wife had spoken. "For one thing they wouldn't have him, he's got too much of a reputation."

"Maybe, I don't suppose we'll ever know now." Narcissa said, relieved she wouldn't face the prospect of losing her son.

"I still don't like it, The Malfoy line will now have muggle in it." Lucius wrinkled his nose in distaste. "We'll be disgraced."

"Don't be stupid." Narcissa said, shaking her head. "The future Malfoy's may not be pureblood's, but Draco is The Dark Lord's right hand man and the Granger girl will be the reason he wins the war. That will equal a lot of respect and power, not a disgrace."

Lucius mulled over his wife's wise words, he hated to admit it but she was right. In this new world they would create Draco and his mudblood would be right at the top of the hierarchy, securing the Malfoy name and meaning it would still represent something special.

"Maybe you're right." Lucius said, gently kissing his wife.

"Of course, I am." Narcissa smiled, seductively. "Now come to bed."

* * *

"Stop the pacing, Bella, or I'll send you back to your husband." Voldemort ordered his lover from where he was sitting by the fire in his bedroom.

Bella glared at The Dark Lord, but stopped pacing and sat in the chair opposite him, taking a drink from her glass of firewhisky.

"You think I'm making a mistake." Voldemort suddenly said, breaking the silence.

"I just don't think the mudblood can be trusted." Bella admitted, unsure if Voldemort was in the mood to be pushed on his decisions.

"What about your nephew, do you trust him?"

"Yes, I trust Draco more than anyone, bar you." Bella admitted. The Dark Lord, Draco and Narcissa were the only people Bella could honestly say she loved and trusted.

"The you should trust his judgement, he says she'll be loyal and I believe him." Voldemort stated. "I also believed her."

Bella sat for a few minutes contemplating their new recruit, there was no denying she was an incredibly talented witch, it was just a shame her blood was so dirty.

"Do you think she can cope with the guilt after?" Bella asked. "That's the problem with people with a conscience they regret the hard decisions that need to be taken."

Voldemort chuckled, despite his lover's outward appearance of a mad woman she was incredibly smart.

"I think Draco will help her cope." Voldemort said, thinking about the feisty young woman who had managed to break into their meeting. "I think she's going to be a really good asset for us, in both helping us win the war and after."

"I suppose I better get used to her, as I'm sure she'll be family soon enough." Bella sighed.

"Yes, I think she will be." Voldemort said a small smile gracing his creepy face.

Standing from his chair, Voldemort offered his hand to help Bella up from hers, and headed towards the bed.

"I think that's enough talking tonight." He said as the couple arrived at his bed.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N – I'd just like to answer a guest review that was posted, they thought that surely Hermione would be either imprisoned or killed after Voldemort wins the war. In this story I'm trying to show that Voldemort cares about Draco, so he won't do anything to Hermione because he doesn't want to hurt Draco. I hope that explains some things and I'm sorry if it hasn't come across clearly enough about Voldemort caring about Draco, hopefully their relationship will be explored more in later chapters and you'll understand Voldemort's reasons for letting Hermione survive.**

* * *

The sun was barely up and Draco was already awake, he was lying in his large bed tracing patterns on Hermione's naked back. Draco had barely slept all night, he was too worried about what would be happening this morning, he had no idea what The Dark Lord had decided about Hermione or what the decision would mean for him personally.

Careful not to wake his sleeping girlfriend, Draco got out of bed and headed for the bathroom and the shower. Once out of the shower, Draco dressed and headed out to his balcony for some fresh air.

An hour later, Draco was so lost in thought he didn't notice Hermione was awake until she appeared on the balcony beside him.

"Hi, how long have you been up?" She asked, admiring the stunning view.

"A while." He responded, turning to admire Hermione who was wrapped in the silk sheet off his bed. "You should get ready, we don't know when The Dark lord will want us."

"How will we know?" Hermione asked.

Draco held up his left arm, showing Hermione his Dark Mark. Hermione nodded, feeling stupid because she had forgotten about the mark.

"I'll go and have a shower." Hermione said, wandering back into the bedroom.

When Hermione had showered and dressed she returned to the balcony where Draco was still standing.

"Are you worried?" She asked, running her hand down Draco's back.

"Aren't you?" He replied, pulling Hermione so she was standing in front of him, in-between his arms that were resting on the balcony rail.

"Yes, but I'm trying to think positive." Hermione said.

Hermione felt Draco laugh quietly behind her. "That's the difference between you and me. You think positive, I worry about the worst case scenario."

Hermione didn't say anything, and the two of them stood looking at the view for some time before Draco felt a slight sting in his left wrist.

"He's ready."

Taking a deep breath, Hermione turned away from the view and headed into Draco's bedroom with her boyfriend following closely behind her. Draco took Hermione's hand and led her from the room and headed down from his wing towards the dining room where Death Eater meetings were held.

Trying to distract herself from what was coming, Hermione studied her surroundings as Draco led her back to the dining room she had entered the previous evening. Hermione had always known The Malfoy's were rich but seeing the house first hand she realised they were super rich, the house screamed elegance and was full of expensive looking furniture and decorations.

Draco stopped in front of the double doors and turned to Hermione.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes." She nodded.

"Whatever happens, I want you to know, I love you." He said, kissing Hermione softly on the lips.

"I love you, too." She said softly, as they broke the kiss.

Turning to face the doors leading into the dining room, Draco made sure his expression was unreadable and opened the doors, leading Hermione into the room.

"Ah, Draco. Miss Granger." Voldemort greeted as the two entered the room.

Draco inclined his head slightly to The Dark Lord and took a quick look around the room, it was a full meeting as the large room was packed. He noticed his usual chair was empty as was the one next to his where Lucius usually sat, Draco noticed his father had moved down the table one place and was looking extremely unhappy. Draco had to make sure his smirk was contained as he noticed the seats, unless The Dark Lord was playing games with them his decision regarding Hermione seemed to be a positive one.

"I've made a decision." Voldemort said, drawing the whole room's attention. "I weighed all the evidence and decided that I will allow you to join us, Miss Granger."

Hermione breathed a huge sigh of relief, she had did it, her plan had worked.

"Draco, take your seat. Miss Granger, come here." Voldemort ordered.

Draco and Hermione immediately followed The Dark Lord's orders, Draco took his seat next to Voldemort and Hermione stood in front of the dark wizard.

Voldemort watched Hermione with interest, the only emotion she had shown at his decision was relief, not fear or anxiety. Voldemort watched as she calmly stood in front of him, she seemed unaffected by the fact she was in the presence of the most feared dark wizard in history.

"Hold your arm out." Voldemort ordered.

Hermione obeyed, rolling her left sleeve back and offering her arm to Voldemort. Impressed by how calm she was, Voldemort drew his wand and pressed it against her skin, causing the Dark Mark to appear slowly on her pale forearm.

As Voldemort gave her the mark, Hermione tried her best not to show how much it hurt to have the tattoo branded into her skin. When he was finished, Voldemort watched for any sign of pain on the girl, he could see it in her eyes but she refused to show any weakness in the room full of Death Eaters. Voldemort had seen grown men cry and whimper at being branded, but the young woman in front of him stood tall and proud hiding her pain. Impressed with her courage, Voldemort waved his wand and cast a silent pain spell causing the discomfort Hermione was feeling to vanish.

Hermione looked at Voldemort in shock, she hadn't expected him to show her any kindness.

"Take your seat next to Draco." Voldemort said.

Hermione took her seat next to Draco, noticing the dirty looks Lucius was shooting her way. Why Hermione didn't know what the exact seating arrangements in Death Eater meeting meant, from her limited knowledge of the hierarchy she knew his most trusted followers sat closest to him, hence the reason Draco and Bellatrix flanked him on both sides. From her position at the table he had already placed her high up in the ranks, higher up than her boyfriend's father it would seem.

"Miss Granger's initiation this morning is to remain confidential." Voldemort told his assembled Death Eaters. "It is vital, this information remains secret. If I find anyone has talked they will regret it."

Voldemort then dismissed his followers, except for his inner circle which included the newest recruit, Hermione.

"Now it's time for you to prove yourself, Miss Granger." Voldemort said, when the room was empty apart from his most trusted circle of people. "I want the Order headquarters and a list of all the safe houses under the protection of the Order."

The whole of the table turned to look at the former Gryffindor, waiting to see if she would turn on her friends.

"The headquarters to The Order of the Phoenix is number twelve Grimmauld Place." Hermione said, shocking both Lucius and Bella who expected Hermione to refuse to turn her friends over. "There is only a small number of safe houses though, most of the Order prefer to stay at Grimmauld Place."

"Good, that makes my plans easier." Voldemort said. "I want to arrange a simultaneous raid on the headquarters and all the safe houses. I want as many members of the Order either captured or killed."

"What about the ones that escape?" Bella asked. "We won't be able to contain everyone."

"They'll be disposed of in the next phase of my plan." Voldemort said. "I've got a few things to do this week, when I return at the weekend I expect a full plan for attack. Draco, that's your job, get the information from Miss Granger and together the pair of you organize strategy."

Turning to Hermione, Voldemort suddenly realise her absence from the Order might be noticed and considered suspicious, he needed them to still trust her for the second part of his plan to work.

"Will you need to return to the Order before the weekend?"

"I don't think so, I had a fight with Harry a few days ago, they'll all think I'm sulking." Hermione explained.

"Good, that's perfect." Voldemort said. "Well done, Miss Granger."

"Can I say something?" Hermione asked, sensing Voldemort was preparing to leave.

"Of course." Voldemort nodded.

"Will you please call me Hermione, instead of Miss Granger."

Voldemort cackled while Bella and Lucius both looked outraged that Hermione had dared to speak to The Dark Lord in such a casual manor.

"We'll see, if you impress me I'll agree to your request." Voldemort said, standing and leaving the room.

Bellatrix shot Hermione a curious look and followed Voldemort out of the room while Lucius looked on in disgust before he also left, leaving Draco and Hermione alone with Severus.

"I should be getting back to the school." Severus said standing. "I'm pleased everything worked out for you, Hermione."

"Thank you." Hermione said, giving Severus a quick hug. "And thank you for all your help, I couldn't have done it without you."

"I'm sure you would have managed somehow." Severus chuckled before turning to his godson. "I hope you're not too mad at me."

"No, I understand why you didn't tell me." Draco told his godfather. "Thank you for helping Hermione, it means a lot to me."

"You're welcome, I just want you to be happy, both of you." Severus said, quickly leaving the house before things became too emotional.

"Come on, we need to get started." Draco told Hermione, leading her out of the room and back towards his own wing of the Manor.

* * *

Hermione stared at the large library, Draco had brought her into. It made the library at Hogwarts look tiny, she was in heaven. While Draco settled himself at a desk, Hermione continued to wander around the huge room, examining books as she went.

"I know this is your idea of heaven, Granger, but you'll have plenty of time to explore later. Right now we need to get to work."

"Okay, sorry." Hermione replied, tearing herself away from the books lining the walls.

Hermione made her way over to her boyfriend and sat down next to him.

"Where do you want to start?" Hermione asked him, unsure of how to proceed as she had never organized anything like this before.

"First I need a list of places we're targeting." Draco told Hermione, giving her some parchment and a quill. "Start writing, include the owners of the house on the list."

Hermione started to write the list.

* * *

**_12 Grimmauld Place. (Harry Potter)_**

**_The Burrow. (Arthur and Molly Weasley)_**

**_Shell Cottage. (Bill and Fleur Weasley)_**

**_14 Red Brick Lane. (Ted and Andromeda Tonks)_**

**_28 Willow Terrace. (Remus and Nymphadora Lupin)_**

* * *

"That's all." Hermione said, passing the parchment to Draco.

"Small list." Draco commented.

"Yeah, there's a few people have their own places, like me, but most stay at one of these on a regular basis." Hermione explained.

"Now we need detailed maps on each building." Draco mused. "I need to make sure I have all exits covered and know the exact layout of every house."

"How do we get that, I can give you some basic information but nothing that detailed." Hermione said, disappointed she couldn't be more help.

"That's where I come in." Draco grinned. "I've got a spell that scans buildings and transfers the information onto parchment as blueprints."

Hermione looked at her boyfriend impressed by both his magical ability and his planning skills.

"Watch." Draco said, taking out his wand.

Draco stood in the middle of the room and flicked his wand, muttering an incantation. Hermione watched as Draco stood still for a few minutes before moving back to the table. Placing the tip of his wand on an empty bit of parchment, Hermione watched as a detailed drawing started to appear on the parchment. Draco handed the parchment to Hermione, who was shocked to see a detailed map of Malfoy Manor.

"That's amazing." Hermione gasped.

"Of course." Draco smirked, pleased he had impressed his super brainy girlfriend.

"How are we going to get the plans for all the building though? I only have access to Grimmauld Place and The Burrow." Hermione wondered. "It'll look suspicious if I visit all the safe houses and then they're raided."

"It will," Draco said, thinking about a solution. "How about I cause a distraction, taking the attention of the Order. Then all you have to do is sneak into each house and get the maps."

"Do you think that'll work?" Hermione asked.

"Hopefully. Now all we need to do is arrange enough of a distraction so that the houses will be empty." Draco said. "Any ideas?"

"To get a full on reaction, you'll need to do something big." Hermione mused. "Diagon Alley, maybe."

"There's only a handful of places left open though, would it be enough?" Draco asked, seeing the potential.

"Yes, when one of them belongs to The Weasley Twins." Hermione said, not wishing Fred and George any harm but knowing it was inevitable.

"Perfect." Draco smiled, pleased Hermione seemed to be embracing her dark side.

For the next hour Draco and Hermione planned the attack on Diagon Alley and organised the best way for Hermione to get her maps of the Order's building's.


	16. Chapter 16

Draco stood in the shadows of Knockturn Alley, from his vantage point he could see the Weasley Twins shop, it was doing a fair bit of business despite the on-going war. When the last of the customers had gone, Draco signalled for his group of Death Eaters to prepare for the attack. Sending a message on his enchanted necklace to Hermione, Draco gave the signal to attack.

Draco watched as his Death Eaters descended on the joke shop and the surrounding buildings, firing curses and causing as much damage as possible. As with all the raids and attacks Draco planned, the current attack ran like clockwork as Draco had covered every base and considered every outcome.

Draco watched satisfied as within minutes of the attack starting, members of The Order started apparating into the area. The best thing about The Order was the fact they didn't wear masks or cloaks so it was always easy to spot their identity, within minutes Draco had located both Potter and Weasley. Pulling on his mask so he could join the action, Draco hoped this distraction would buy Hermione enough time to get her information.

* * *

Hermione stood in Draco's bedroom waiting for the signal to indicate the attack had begun. Hermione re-checked her bag for the tenth time to make sure she had enough parchment with her, each map had to be transferred before she could hold another one in her wand.

Spotting the signal from Draco, her heart necklace turned red, Hermione waited a few minutes before apparating into Grimmauld Place.

Hermione had deliberately apparated into the bedroom she used when she was staying at headquarters, the only chance of someone seeing her was Ginny and the redhead was nowhere in sight.

Taking her wand out, Hermione performed the spell Draco had taught her. As her wand was absorbing the information Hermione took a quick look around the room, it looked like Ginny was currently staying at headquarters as there was plenty of her belongings dotted around the room. Hermione also noticed a few of Harry's things in the room, it seemed Harry and Ginny were currently back together or at least sleeping together, Hermione had given up trying to keep track of their tempestuous relationship years ago.

Hermione checked the spell had worked, before pulling some parchment out and transferring the information from her wand to the parchment. When she was done she scribbled _'Grimmauld Place'_ at the top of the sheet, so the maps wouldn't get confused with each other.

Putting the map into her bag, Hermione apparated to her next destination, The Burrow.

Hermione arrived in the small bathroom in The Burrow, immediately she began her spell. When she was finished she transferred the map to parchment, labelled it correctly and put it back into her bag.

Hermione knew her two easiest places were done, she couldn't apparate directly into any of the other buildings. Hoping the distraction was big enough to attract the majority of the Order, Hermione apparated to the beach near to Shell Cottage.

Hermione approached the small house carefully, circling it three times before breaking the wards and entering the building. Standing in the kitchen, Hermione started her spell making sure to stay alert to anyone returning to the building. Not wanting to stay any longer than necessary, Hermione left the building as soon as her wand had absorbed the plan of the house.

Hermione reset the wards around Shell Cottage, confident no one would be able to tell they had been temporarily down. Sitting on the beach, Hermione transferred her latest map before setting off to her next location.

Hermione landed in an alley behind Willow Terrace, home to Tonks and Remus. Hermione knew the wards around their house were the strongest, after all Tonks is an Auror and Remus is a former DADA Professor. Luckily for Hermione, she helped set some of the wards up and easily disabled them. As in Shell Cottage, Hermione was in and out as quickly as possible.

Hermione had just left the building when she heard the crack of apparition, cursing she hid behind a bin and watched as Tonks and Remus appeared in the Alleyway. Realising she hadn't reset the wards, Hermione quickly tried to put them back up. She just say managed it, as she reactivated the last ward Remus took out his wand and started to deactivate the wards to allow him and his wife to enter their house.

As soon as Tonks and Remus were inside the house, Hermione apparated away. When she arrived at her next destination Hermione transferred the plans of The Lupins' house onto parchment, praying it had worked because she couldn't return to their house. Relieved when it did, Hermione walked to her next target and started planning her next move.

Unlike the other houses, the occupants of the last building weren't active members of The Order so they wouldn't have been called upon to attend the attack in Diagon Alley. Hermione and Draco had decided she should leave the Tonks' house to last as the best way to gain entry would involve watching and waiting for an opportune moment to break into the house. Hermione stood on the corner of the street watching the house, she knew she couldn't stay there for long as it was a muggle neighbourhood and someone might notice her loitering.

From her observations, Hermione deduced both Ted and Andromeda were in the house. Looking around, Hermione decided the best way to enter the house would be from the back as their house backed onto a large field. Hermione cast a spell on the house that would alert her to any comings and goings and headed for the field at the back of the house.

Two hours later and Hermione was still hidden in the field behind the Tonks house. Just as she was beginning to suspect she was wasting her time, the spell she had cast activated revealing that Andromeda had left the house. Casting the spell to detect living presence, she found that Ted Tonks was in an upstairs room.

Deciding she couldn't risk waiting any longer in case Andromeda returned, Hermione moved closer to the house and dropped the wards. She knew Ted wouldn't realise the wards had been dropped as he was muggle, what he might realise though is that someone was breaking into his house if she made too much noise. Hermione approached the house as quietly as she could and tried the back door, it was locked. A quick Alohamora solved her problems and she snuck into the Tonks' back passage. Being as quiet as she could, Hermione cast the spell, listening for any noise from upstairs.

Before the spell completed, she heard feet on the stairs, Ted was coming down. Knowing she couldn't leave until the spell was complete, Hermione looked around for somewhere to hide. Spotting a cupboard she ducked inside, just as Ted entered the kitchen that was joined to the passage. Hermione couldn't see when the spell finished as she was in complete darkness, but she could hear Ted wandering about in the kitchen. Hermione nervously waited for Ted to leave the room so she could exit the house, her main worry was if Andromeda returned she would notice the wards were down and raise the alarm.

Hermione was stuck in the cupboard for what seemed like an eternity, in reality it was five minutes, before Ted finally wandered back out of the kitchen and headed into the front room. Once she was sure the coast was clear, Hermione snuck out of the cupboard and checking the spell had ended left the house via the back door. Hermione relocked the door and reactivated the wards before she transferred the last map from her wand.

Relieved she had gotten all maps, Hermione apparated back to Draco's bedroom in the Manor.

* * *

"There you go, five maps of Order buildings." Hermione said, dropping the pieces of Parchment onto the desk in front of Draco.

"Did you have any problems?" Draco asked, examining the maps.

"Not really, did you?"

Draco grinned and pulled Hermione into his lap. "No, it all went perfect."

"Of course, you planned it in miniscule detail." Hermione said, kissing Draco on the cheek.

"Now I have to plan this, before The Dark Lord's Return tomorrow." Draco said, gesturing to the maps.

"Do you want any help?" Hermione asked, eying up the library behind her boyfriend.

"No, go and explore. I'll be better on my own." Draco said, smiling when Hermione's eyes lit up at the prospect of exploring the huge room full of books.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." Draco said, moving Hermione off his knee. "Go, have fun."

Hermione gave Draco a quick kiss and headed off into the vast room, leaving Draco to start making his plans for the Order safe houses.

* * *

A few hours later Hermione was sitting on the floor, leaning up against a bookshelf and leafing through a rare spell book when a noise caught her attention. Looking up she was surprised to find Bellatrix standing a few metres away watching her. Hermione immediately felt panicked by the woman's presence, of all the Death Eaters Bellatrix was the only one who genuinely frightened Hermione, she suspected it had something to do with the fact that the woman was slightly mad.

"I'm not going to do anything to you, I only want to talk." Bella said, sensing Hermione's discomfort. "Besides, Draco's only a few feet away and he's already warned me he'd kill me if I did anything to you."

Hermione watched entranced, as the mad image that constantly occupied her boyfriend's aunt slipped away revealing an ordinary woman.

"I'm not quite as mad as I like to make people think I am." Bella told Hermione, aware that anyone who didn't know her would assume the madness was real and not faked, as much of it was.

"Why the act?" Hermione asked as Bella sat down on the floor beside her.

"It puts people off. I like it better when people see a mad woman instead of a scared one." Bella admitted, surprising Hermione with her honesty.

"Why would you be scared?" Hermione asked. "You're one of the most feared Death Eaters."

"Yes I am, but I'm not scared for me." Bella shrugged, unsure why she was revealing her inner most secrets to the girl sitting beside her. "I'm scared for the man I love, he is the most wanted wizard in the world."

Hermione was shocked to hear Bellatrix admit her love for Voldemort, she knew from Severus that the pair were lovers but she never expected the woman to confide in her about her feelings.

"You looked surprised." Bella cackled, reminding Hermione of the Bellatrix she was used to.

"Yes, I'm wondering why you're telling me." Hermione admitted, hoping she wouldn't offend Bellatrix as she knew how much she meant to Draco.

"I don't know really. I never intended to say that." Bella admitted. "But I suppose it's because you're the only person I think can understand."

"Surely other wives of Death Eaters understand your worry, Narcissa perhaps." Hermione suggested, hoping she wouldn't be put off and leave, it was intriguing to see a softer side to the dark witch.

"Maybe, but for Cissa all she has to do is wait for Lucius to return to her. She isn't involved in the day to day plans and fights." Bella shrugged, feeling her nephew's girlfriend would understand her fears better than her own sister. "Most importantly she didn't take the mark for the man she loves."

"Ah, that's why you feel I would best understand." Hermione said, looking at the Dark Mark on Bella's arm and comparing it to her own new one.

"Yes, you're the only person I've ever met whose taken the mark for love rather than other reasons."

"Can I ask you something?" Hermione queried, waiting until the other woman nodded before continuing. "Why did you join as a Death Eater, why not just follow in the background like the other wives?"

"Because, I'm not The Dark Lord's wife, my husband is an imbecile I married to keep my parents happy." Bella sighed, once again cursing her parents for forcing her to marry. "I joined to be close to The Dark Lord and to be by his side."

"Do you ever regret it?" Hermione asked quietly, looking at the mark on her arm and wondering if she would ever get used to it.

"No, it means I can be with the man I love." Bella said, wondering if Draco's girlfriend was regretting her actions, for her sake she hoped not. "Do you?"

"No." Hermione said forcefully, snapping her head up to meet Bella's dark eyes. "It's odd having his mark on me but I don't regret it."

"Good. Look at the mark as proof of your love for Draco, when you look at it remember why you're doing what you're doing and most importantly who you're doing it for." Bella told Hermione as she stood back up.

Hermione looked at the mark on her left arm in a new light after Bella's words of wisdom, she would no longer look at it as the mark of a dark wizard but as evidence of how much she loved Draco.

"Thank you." Hermione said, smiling at the older witch.

"I'm pleased to have helped." Bella said, flashing a genuine smile at Hermione before returning to her serious face. "Now for the point of my visit."

"Our little chat wasn't the point?" Hermione questioned as she stood up.

"No, I just came to make sure you were aware of the consequences if you hurt my nephew." Bella said, suddenly looking like the threatening Death Eater she was. "I don't have any children of my own, Draco is the nearest I've got. So if you hurt him in any way you won't just have the Dark Lord to worry about, but you will also have me to deal with."

Hermione tried not to be too intimidated by the woman standing in front of her, but it was extremely difficult.

"That won't be a problem, I have no intention of ever hurting Draco." Hermione finally managed to get out a sentence in her own defence.

"Good, in that case I'm sure we'll be firm friends." Bella said, giving Hermione another genuine smile before she turned on her heel and swept out of the part of the library where Hermione had been sitting.

Hermione stood staring at the spot where the older woman had departed from for several moments, trying to convince herself she hadn't imagined the surreal conversation she had just had with Draco's aunt.


	17. Chapter 17

"Impressive. Perfectly organised as usual, Draco." Voldemort said, looking at the plans to raid the Order's safe houses.

Voldemort had returned to the Manor a few hours ago and had immediately summoned his inner circle to discuss the upcoming raids on the Order's safe houses.

Draco nodded slightly, acknowledging The Dark Lord. Voldemort studied the plans for a few minutes longer before turning to Hermione.

"Hermione, what sort of plans does the Order have in place in case of an attack?"

"Everyone has a safe apparition point they are to go to in case of an attack. Each point is the meeting place for three of four members." Hermione said, smiling at Voldemort's use of her first name.

"Do you know anything about Potter's safe point?" Voldemort asked.

"Yes." Hermione smiled. "It's the same as mine."

"Excellent, that's perfect for my plans." Voldemort said. "We attack tonight. All the safe houses will be targeted simultaneously and as many members as possible will be either killed or captured."

"How do you plan on capturing so many people?" Severus questioned.

"Bella." Voldemort said, gesturing to the raven haired woman to speak.

"With these." Bella said, throwing a pair of magical handcuffs onto the table. "When you snap them on someone's wrist, they instantly transport them to the Manor's dungeons where they will be kept prisoner."

"Excellent, Bella." Voldemort said, causing Bella to smile proudly. "Draco, I want you to lead the raid on the Order's headquarters."

"Of course." Draco nodded, he would have been highly offended if he wasn't in charge of the most vital raid.

"And I want you to ensure Potter escapes."

"What, I thought the whole point of this was to catch Potter." Lucius spluttered.

"Calm down, Lucius." Voldemort said, shooting the blond a frosty glare. "Do you honestly think I don't have a plan. Obviously we won't be able to destroy the entire Order, some will escape. If Potter was captured and brought to me and I disposed of him, do you honestly think the remaining members would just take our words for it that Potter was dead."

Voldemort looked at Lucius, waiting for the blond man to speak.

"No." He whispered finally.

"No, they would continue to fight." Voldemort said forcefully. "This way they will be left in no doubt that Potter is no more."

"How are you planning on doing that?" Draco asked, wondering what sort of elaborate final face off Voldemort had planned.

"By making him come to me." Voldemort said, an evil smile playing on his face. "I'm guessing any Order members that escape will eventually meet up, am I right?" He turned to Hermione.

"Yes, Harry will contact every safe point to find out who escaped." Hermione said.

"Good, after everyone gathers together, Hermione will lead them all to me."

"How do you even know she will deliver." Lucius asked, shooting the brunette beside him dirty looks.

"She has so far, and I believe she will continue to do so." Voldemort said. "This is a perfect opportunity for Hermione to show us what she's made of."

"I'll deliver you Harry, but wouldn't that mean I would have to be at headquarters?" Hermione asked, unsure of whether Harry would welcome her presence following their recent fight.

"No, luckily Draco solved that problem unintentionally."

"How?" Bella asked.

"The attack he organised a few days before Hermione joined us." Voldemort said.

"Where I threatened Hermione and revealed I knew where she lived." Draco said, remembering the empty threat he had delivered to Potter.

"Exactly, when Hermione meets up with Potter she will say that her home was attacked." Voldemort said. "She will then lead them him to me."

"Where?" Severus asked, even though he already suspected the answer.

"Hogwarts." Voldemort announced. "School finishes for the summer in a few days. I think the school is a fitting place for Potter and I to meet one last time."

"How will I know when to bring Harry and what if I can't get him there in time?" Hermione asked, worried about how much responsibility was being placed on her shoulders.

"Don't worry I'm not setting you a timescale you have to keep to. After tonight you'll be back with the Order, your job is to persuade them to break into Hogwarts. I take it you and Draco have some way of communicating." Hermione nodded. "When you disable the wards and are ready to enter, inform Draco and we'll take care of the rest. Make sure you give us enough time to get set up inside."

"How much notice will you need?" Hermione asked.

"A few hours at the most." Voldemort answered, happy the girl seemed eager to please.

"And what if she can't convince Potter to break into Hogwarts?" Lucius sneered.

"Then she'll have to face the consequences." Voldemort said, sending a chill through both Hermione and Draco. "Any more questions?"

No one answered, instead they all waited for Voldemort to continue. Looking down at the list of safe houses he continued to give instructions.

"Bella, you lead the raid on The Weasley's, Lucius you take the younger Weasley's and Severus you take the werewolf's house."

"What about my sister's house?" Bella asked.

"That's the smallest and least significant of the lot, I don't need anyone special there. Maybe Rodolphus." Voldemort mused.

"What will I be doing?" Hermione asked, she had thought she might be involved in one of the raids, since her main job didn't start till after.

"I'm afraid you'll have to stay away, I can't risk you getting hurt or exposed." Voldemort told Hermione, glad she seemed to be enthusiastic about helping. "When Draco informs us of Potter's escape, you'll go to your safe point and then the result of this war rests on your shoulders."

Hermione didn't argue with Voldemort, while she was disappointed she couldn't argue with his logic regarding the night activities. Shortly after that discussion, Voldemort dismissed the meeting.

* * *

"Are you sure you're okay about tonight?" Draco asked Hermione.

It was mid-afternoon and Hermione and Draco were walking round the magnificent gardens of Malfoy Manor. Draco had spent the last few hours with The Dark Lord finalising the plans for the night's raids.

"Yes I'm fine. You don't need to constantly check on me." Hermione said, grateful that Draco cared enough to keep checking she was alright. "I knew what I was getting into."

"As long as you're sure." Draco sighed. "It's going to be different when you have to spend time with Potter."

"I know. So far everything I've done, I haven't had to face him but now I will." Hermione said, she was aware that actually being in Harry's presence might make things harder for her. "But I've made my decision."

"What if you can't go through with it once you see him?" Draco asked, voicing the thought that had worried him, he had no idea whether Hermione could betray her friends once she had seen them face to face.

"I can, all I have to think about is what would happen if he defeated Voldemort." Hermione said forcefully, she was determined to stay focused.

Any protest Draco might have made was silenced by the determinedness in Hermione's voice.

"Do you want anything from your place before tonight? You might not be able to get back later." Draco asked, changing the subject.

"Can we do that?" Hermione questioned, she had been wondering about Crookshanks and some of her belongings.

"Yes, but we have to go this afternoon." Draco said.

"Great." Hermione smiled. "I can bring Crookshanks, can't I?"

Draco chuckled at his girlfriend's concern over her ginger fur ball of a cat. "Of course you can. Come on."

Draco and Hermione headed back into the Manor. When they reached Draco's wing they flooed to Hermione's flat.

* * *

"How much can I bring?" Hermione asked, looking about her small flat.

"Only what you really want, we can try and come back for the rest later." Draco asked, looking around the flat he had never been inside and noticing something was missing. "Where's Crookshanks?"

"He's with Mrs Collins, in the flat opposite. She's been looking after him." Hermione said, looking around the room trying to decide what to take.

"Let's get you packed and then you can go and get him." Draco said.

"Why don't you go and get him while I pack." Hermione said as she started to sort through her books.

"It's too risky, if anything goes wrong tonight or in the next few days and someone from the Order visits your place and talks to your neighbour, it wouldn't be good if she described me." Draco explained.

"Why would anything go wrong?" Hermione said, shaking her head at her boyfriend's negative attitude.

"It shouldn't, but you have to consider all possibilities." Draco said.

One of the reasons Draco had become such a high ranking Death Eater was his ability to consider all eventualities and to have a back-up plan for if things went wrong.

For the next half hour Hermione and Draco packed up all of the things Hermione said she wanted to take with her.

"I'll take these back to the Manor, you get your cat." Draco said, kissing Hermione briefly on the lips before leaving her flat.

Quickly checking she hadn't missed anything or that you could tell anything was missing in the small flat, Hermione headed to the door to get Crookshanks. Opening the door, Hermione get the shock of her life when she found Harry on the other side, his hand raised to knock.

"Harry what are you doing here?" Hermione asked totally shocked to find him outside her door.

"We need to talk." Harry said, pushing past Hermione and entering her flat.

Hermione shut her door, angry at the interruption and the way Harry had just barged into her home. Turning to follow Harry, she caught a glimpse of the Dark Mark on her left arm, quickly she pulled her cardigan sleeve down and hoped that Harry hadn't noticed it when he had entered.

"What do you want, Harry?" She asked when she entered her front room, pleased there was no evidence of her recent packing.

"I want you to come to the meeting tonight." Harry said, looking at Hermione. "I know we're fighting but people are starting to ask questions about your absence."

"So, tell them the truth." Hermione snapped. "That I don't agree with what you're doing."

"No, that's a private matter between me and you. If you come to the meeting we can talk afterwards." Harry said, his request sounding more like an order.

Hermione wanted to argue and say no but remembering how she would need his trust later, she decided to play along.

"Okay I'll come. I want to sort things out between us." Hermione told her friend. "What time's the meeting?"

"Eight." Harry said, heading for the door. "Don't worry Hermione, we'll work things out."

Hermione faltered, wondering if maybe she had misjudged Harry.

"I swear I'll manage to convince you I'm right with what I'm doing." He said, proving Hermione was right in her initial judgement of her friend, he wasn't willing to back down over his attacks on purebloods.

Hermione watched as Harry left her flat, his visit had made her even more determined to help Voldemort win the war. After she was sure Harry had left, Hermione went over to retrieve Crookshanks from Mrs Collins.

When Hermione returned to her flat with Crookshanks, she realised how close Harry had come to discovering her secret. Standing in the middle of her front room was Draco, looking worried. Seeing her boyfriend it suddenly occurred to Hermione, if he had come back a few minutes earlier Harry would still have been in the room.

"What's taking so long? I've been worried." Draco said, relieved to see Hermione walk into the room.

"Sorry, I got held up." Hermione said. "I'll explain later, let's go."

* * *

At half past seven Hermione said goodbye to Draco and watched as he prepared to apparate away with the rest of the Death Eaters, ready to launch the attack on the order.

Hermione had told Draco and Voldemort about her encounter with Harry, Voldemort had been thrilled and had immediately declared they would attack slightly before eight so Hermione's absence wouldn't look suspicious.

Hermione watched as Voldemort gave Draco some final order's, it was the first time she had witnessed the pair interacting without other people being involved in the conversation. She could immediately see what Severus had meant when he said Voldemort cared for Draco, he looked like a father reassuring himself of his son's safety. Hermione also noticed the feeling seemed to be mutual, she knew from hearing Draco talk that over the years he had become fond of the dark wizard but watching them together she saw it first-hand.

Hermione also noticed how Voldemort managed to spend a few minutes with Bellatrix, whispering something to her that made her smirk slightly and nod her head. Hermione continued to watch as both Severus and Bella gave Draco a hug, their love for her boyfriend evident, she smiled at the sight. Most people believed the dark side were pure evil and weren't capable of love, what she was witnessing was proving them wrong, even the formidable Dark Lord was capable of loving.

"Time to go." Voldemort announced, drawing the attention of the crowded room. "Good luck."

With a final nod from Voldemort, the Death Eaters apparated away, leaving only Hermione and Voldemort in the room.

"We'll have a drink. It's not time for our part just yet." Voldemort said, turning to Hermione. "Come on, it's time I got to know my latest recruit a bit better."


	18. Chapter 18

Draco apparated to the street opposite Grimmauld Place and set his team of Death Eater's into position around the house. When it was done he made a quick visit to the other four houses that were being raided to check everything was in place and to ensure that the wards would fall at exactly quarter to eight.

Earlier in the day he had visited each of the safe houses and placed an spell on each house, the spell's connected the wards surrounding the houses to the wards on Grimmauld Place. When he broke through the wards at the headquarters, the wards on all the safe houses would fall allowing the Death Eaters to enter.

Satisfied his spell's had remained undetected and they were still securely in place, Draco headed back to Grimmauld Place. Feeling his Dark Mark burn slightly at quarter to eight, Draco dropped the wards surrounding Grimmauld Place, signalling the start of the raid.

Draco allowed the other Death Eaters to enter the building first, he wasn't planning on being first in line for any counter attack. Satisfied it was relatively safe to enter, Draco headed into the house that once belonged to his mother's family.

Draco immediately joined in the fighting, recognising plenty of people he used to go to school with. While most of his Death Eaters were battling to the death, Draco decided to use the capture method, placing the enchanted handcuffs on as many people as he could.

Draco soon found himself in the front room of the house battling Order members, he was constantly on his guard as spells from both sides were flying around the room, not always meeting the right target's.

Slapping a pair of handcuffs on Neville Longbottom, Draco tried to make his way out of the room, so far he had not seen Potter and it was vital the annoying Gryffindor wasn't killed.

Draco had finally battled his way out of the room and was at the foot of the stairs when he heard a loud scream and looked up. Tumbling down the stairs was an Order member with flaming red hair, obviously a Weasley. Draco managed to get out of the way just in time as the body crashed to the landing, ending up lifeless at the bottom of the stairs. Draco could tell the way the body was lying that the man's neck was broken, carefully he stepped over the body seeing if he could recognise which Weasley had just died. Looking at the dead man, he vaguely recognised him, he was Head Boy in Draco's second or third year, he wasn't sure which. Draco couldn't remember his name, but he could remember his pompous manner and the way he looked down on Slytherin's.

Leaving behind the body he continued to battle his way through the house, trying to locate Potter. Nearly twenty minutes after the raid had started, Draco found himself entering the kitchen. Immediately he spotted Potter and his annoying sidekick battling two Death Eaters, the Weasley mother was also in the kitchen trying to battle the men who were clearly winning the fight with Potter and Weasley.

While Potter and Weasley were distracted with the fight, Draco entered the kitchen and snuck up behind the only female in the room. Unnoticed he snapped a pair of enchanted handcuffs on the plump woman, causing her to disappear with a squeal of surprise.

Hearing his mother's cry, Ron turned just in time to see her disappear into thin air. Roaring with anger he launched himself over the room and started duelling with Draco, unaware of the identity of the masked man he was fighting.

Draco unexpectedly found himself battling with Ron, he was surprised that Weasley wasn't a bad fighter. He had expected him to be slow and sluggish but he was surprisingly agile and vicious. Draco suspected he was a better fighter at the minute because he was high on adrenalin and angry at what he had just witnessed regarding his mother. Ron's anger and adrenalin were no match for Draco's natural talent however and after a few minutes duelling, Ron was struggling to survive the battle.

While he was fighting with Weasley, Draco kept an eye on Potter over the other side of the room, he was still fighting the two Death Eaters and he was showing no intention of running. Draco decided to try and push Potter to leave, he just had to find a way to make him abandon his ridiculous Gryffindor bravery.

Throwing another curse at Weasley, a thought suddenly hit Draco. While Potter was content to fight for the moment, he might not be so keen if his friend was seriously injured and in danger. Smirking under his mask, Draco started attacking Weasley more forcefully, causing the redhead to stumble and fall over.

Weasley managed to get to his feet before Draco reached him, which was fine by Draco. Raising his wand he blasted Weasley off his feet, causing him to fly past Potter and crash into the wall, head first.

Draco watched as Potter rushed to his friend's aid, abandoning his duel. Draco gestured for the two Death Eaters to hold off any attack as he watched Potter try to wake Weasley. Deciding the former Gryffindor was taking too long to leave, Draco shot a slicing curse at Potter, tearing into his right arm and making it bleed profusely.

Draco's attack seemed to be the push Potter needed as he held onto Weasley and apparated away. Satisfied Potter had left, Draco Sent a message to Hermione via their enchanted necklace, he then left the kitchen and re-entered the fight.

Ten minutes later Draco and his team of Death Eaters had control of Grimmauld Place. Draco ordered part of his team to dispose of the few dead bodies littering the house while he double checked the house was empty. Satisfied there were no remaining members of the Order in hiding Draco dismissed his team and set about warding the property.

The plan was to ward every property the dark side took control of during the night's raids and in the coming days the houses would be searched for anything worthwhile.

After warding the property and casting the Dark Mark in the sky above the house, Draco apparated to where Severus would be waiting at Lupin's house. He decided to do his godfather first because he was one he was most anxious about making sure he was safe, his aunt Bella was next on his list before his father and lastly his uncle.

* * *

Draco arrived at the property to find the Dark Mark billowing overhead, he headed inside making sure the house was empty as he went. Apart from Severus all the other Death Eaters should have left to return to the Dark Lord.

"Severus." Draco called, entering the house.

Severus entered the room, cradling his left arm.

"Are you alright?" Draco asked, looking at Severus' arm.

"I'm fine, it's just a slight scratch." Severus said. "Did everything go okay?"

"Yes, Potter and Weasley got away." Draco said, watching as Severus tried to hide how much pain he was in. "Did everything go alright here?"

"Yes, I don't think anyone escaped. Most were captured."

"Most? Who wasn't captured?" Draco asked.

"Remus Lupin, he was killed." Severus said sadly, while he wasn't friends with the werewolf he had still known the man since school.

"Sorry." Draco said, knowing how long Severus had known the former Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor. "Who else was here?"

"Mainly former Hogwarts staff." Severus shrugged. "They put up a good fight and didn't run."

"I'm guessing only a few people did run, most stayed and fought at the headquarters." Draco said.

"I should be going. Let you get on." Severus said, wincing with the pain in his arm.

"Fine, make sure you get that arm sorted." Draco said as his godfather prepared to apparate away.

"I will, see you later." Severus said before he left Draco alone.

Once he was alone, Draco checked the house was definitely empty and warded the property before heading to his next destination.

Arriving at the Burrow, Draco had a quick chat with Bella, making sure everything had gone alright. Bella was thrilled with the night, she thought only two people escaped while most were captured and a couple killed.

Dismissing his aunt, Draco set the wards and headed off to his next destination where his father was waiting.

"Draco, I expected you a while ago." Lucius said, the relief at seeing his son was safe, evident in his voice.

"I got here as soon as I could." Draco replied. "How did things go?"

"Good, most stayed and fought. I think a couple of the younger ones escaped, though." Lucius said.

"That's okay, we'll be able to check once we go home. Work out who's missing, so we'll know how many to expect at Hogwarts."

"If they bother to turn up." Lucius snorted.

"Why wouldn't they?" Draco asked, his grey eyes flashing with anger. "Hermione will make sure they're there."

"If you say so." Lucius shrugged.

"I do." Draco snapped, frustrated that his father still seemed to doubt Hermione's loyalty to the dark side. "You should leave, I've got to set the wards."

Lucius looked at his angry son and decide it was best to leave, while he planned on talking to him about the possibility that the Granger girl wouldn't deliver Potter, he wisely decided now wasn't the time or place.

After Lucius left, Draco set the wards and headed to his final destination. The last house was the quickest to do as Rodolphus wasn't the most chattiest of men, so Draco was able to dismiss him within moments of arriving. Finishing the last of the wards, Draco headed home wondering when he would next see his girlfriend.

* * *

Draco had no sooner arrived back at the Manor when he was engulfed in a bone crushing hug from Narcissa.

"You're safe." Narcissa said, hugging her son. "I was so worried."

"Mother, I'm fine." Draco said, removing himself from his mother's embrace. "There was no need to worry."

"I'm your mother, it's my job to worry." Narcissa smiled.

"Is Severus okay?" Draco asked.

"He's fine, he went home to rest his arm." Narcissa said.

"Good." Draco nodded. "Is the Dark Lord here?" He asked his mother.

Narcissa shook her head. "No, he left. He said to tell you that he'd see you in the morning to discuss things."

"Really?" Draco was shocked, he had expected Voldemort to want to check on the prisoners so they could work out how many had escaped the raids.

"Yes really." Narcissa laughed lightly. "You need to rest, everything will still be the same in the morning."

"Fine, I'll be in my room if you need me." Draco said, turning to head up the stairs.

"Draco." Narcissa called, stopping her son on the stairs. "Will you do something for me?"

"What?" Draco asked warily, turning to look at his mother.

"Go and talk to your father, he's in his study."

"Why? I've just seen him." Draco asked, puzzled.

"Please, just go." Narcissa said to her son, before she turned and headed down the corridor.

Sighing, Draco carried on up the stairs and headed to his father's study. Arriving at the heavy oak doors, Draco knocked and waited for his father to answer before pushing open the door and heading into the room.

"Draco, what are you doing here?" Lucius asked, surprised to see his son.

"Mother sent me to see you." Draco answered, sitting down in a chair in front of his father's desk.

Lucius nodded and while Draco waited for him to speak he looked around the room. Draco hadn't been in his father's study for years, but little had changed it was still the dark, depressing room he remembered from his teenage years.

"I wanted to talk to you." Lucius started slowly, unsure of how to raise the topic of his son's girlfriend without provoking Draco.

"Let's guess, Hermione." Draco snorted. "If you going to tell me to stop seeing her it won't work."

"No, it's not that." Lucius sighed. "I'm sure you don't need me to tell you how much I disapprove of your relationship, but I know I don't have any say in the matter."

Draco stared at his father in shock, he had been waiting for Lucius to give him a lecture on dishonouring the Malfoy name by being with Hermione.

"I just want to make sure you know there's a chance you won't see her again."

"What are you talking about?" Draco asked puzzled.

Lucius sighed and ran a hand through his long blond hair. "There's a chance when she sees Potter and her friends again, she won't be able to betray them. I just want to make sure you're prepared for that."

"It won't happen." Draco insisted, trying to ignore the tiny voice in his head that was telling him it was a slim possibility. "I'm not stupid, I know it'll be hard for her. But I believe she will deliver."

"I hope so, for your sake." Lucius said, hoping his son hadn't placed his life in the hands of someone who would let him down. "I may disapprove of the girl and your choice to be with her, but you're my son and I care about you. I just want you to be happy, so I hope everything goes according to plan."

Draco was surprised to hear his father begrudgingly accept his relationship with Hermione, as well as admitting he cared about him. Draco knew his father loved him and his mother, but he wasn't a naturally affectionate man and he often struggled to express his feelings.

"Thank you." Draco smiled at his father, he was aware how hard it had been for Lucius to admit so much to him.

Lucius nodded and cleared his throat, embarrassed by the rare display of emotion he had just exhibited. Sensing his father's discomfort Draco quickly made his excuses and left Lucius' study, leaving the older man alone with his thoughts.


	19. Chapter 19

Hermione sat on the sofa in her small muggle flat, trying not to fidget and appear nervous. After the Death Eaters had left and she was left alone with Voldemort he decided he wanted to talk to her and had told her to take him to her flat. A few minutes ago, at quarter to eight he had sent the message to Draco to begin the raids on the Order's property's.

"I've been wondering, why now?" Voldemort mused, sipping a glass of firewhisky. "Why after all this time, have you turned?"

Hermione stared at Voldemort, unsure of how to answer. She wasn't sure if she didn't know how to explain why now or if the sight of the Dark Lord sitting drinking firewhisky in her flat was slightly off putting to her thought process.

"I mean, it wasn't what you and Draco originally planned was it?" Voldemort asked, wondering if the young woman was finally getting intimidated by his presence.

"No, it wasn't." Hermione shrugged, finding her voice. "But things change, you have to adapt."

"Ah, so that's what you're doing, adapting." Voldemort said. "What was supposed to happen? If you don't mind me asking."

Hermione knew he wasn't asking, he was telling her to reveal her and Draco's original plan. Hermione was wary to do so, as it could lead to trouble for Draco if the Dark Lord found out he had once wished for his downfall.

"I'm not stupid, I know your plans revolved around me being killed." Voldemort said, hoping to ease the brunette's fears about telling him the truth.

While he could easily search her memories, Voldemort wanted to hear Hermione tell him what he wanted to know by herself and in her own words.

"You're right." Hermione sighed, knowing it was pointless to argue. "Simply put, after Dumbledore's death, I was going to help Harry bring you down, then Draco and I would be free to be together."

"I do have a few questions. First, how exactly did you expect Draco to escape without some sort of punishment, he is after all a Death Eater."

"We were hoping the war would be over quickly, before he had time to become too involved with your activities." Hermione said, settling for telling Voldemort the full truth.

"But he would still have had the mark." Voldemort pointed out, impressed that Hermione was telling him the truth.

"Yes, but his memories would show he didn't willingly take it. You gave it to him as punishment for Lucius' screw up at the Ministry." Hermione said.

"Impressive, it seems you thought of everything." Voldemort nodded, knowing if he had been defeated quickly that defence would have quite possibly worked for Draco. "But how did you expect to defeat me so quickly?"

"I put too much trust in Harry and Dumbledore." Hermione laughed bitterly, remembering the time she thought the pair of them knew exactly what they were doing.

Voldemort watched the former Gryffindor curiously, he was about to find out just how much the foolish old headmaster and his protégée knew about him.

"During sixth year, Dumbledore gave Harry private lessons." Hermione told Voldemort, wondering how shocked he would be by the information she was about to reveal. "The lessons consisted of memories of your life, Dumbledore had obtained from various people."

"Dumbledore was teaching Potter about my life, why?" Voldemort asked, puzzled by the old man's behaviour.

"So he would know who he was up against, but that's not really relevant." Hermione said. "The main point was to explain to Harry about your Horcrux's."

"So he did know what I'd done." Voldemort whispered, more to himself then Hermione.

"Yes and he told Harry all about it."

"So what was the problem?" Voldemort asked, wondering if all his remaining Horcrux's were safe.

"Dumbledore knew about your Horcrux's, but he had no idea what they all were or how to find them. He left all that work for three teenagers to do." Hermione said. "Well more precisely, me." She added, Harry and Ron had made very little input into the Horcrux hunt.

"So Potter has no idea, what he's looking for or where?" Voldemort said, feeling immediately relieved.

"I didn't say that." Hermione watched as Voldemort looked briefly panicked before his stoic expression once again fell into place. "Three have been destroyed, Harry knows the identity of two more but the final one remains a mystery."

"Three have been destroyed, I only knew of one." Voldemort said, remembering how angry he had been when he discovered what Lucius had done with his old diary.

"Yes, the diary in second year. The summer before sixth year, Dumbledore found and destroyed the ring he also told Harry about Slytherin's locket, we found and destroyed that during the first year of the war." Hermione told Voldemort, wondering if he would reveal his final Horcrux to her.

"What about the two you know the identity of, why haven't they been destroyed?" Voldemort asked, curious as to how they found out so much about him.

"During his lesson's with Dumbledore, Harry picked up on your continued association with Hogwarts, so he and Dumbledore decided it was likely some of your Horcrux's would be linked to the school's founder's." Hermione explained.

"Like the locket." Voldemort said.

"Yes, one of the memories Dumbledore showed him contained a silver cup belonging to Helga Hufflepuff, so Harry was fairly certain the cup was one." Hermione said, finding herself becoming increasingly comfortable in the dark wizard's presence. "However, despite lots of research the cup's whereabouts remain a mystery."

"Good." Voldemort smiled, satisfied the Order would never be able to find the cup where it was safely hidden, buried deep in the Lestrange's vault at Gringotts. "And the other."

"Ravenclaw's Diadem." Hermione said, noticing the Dark Lord raised one eyebrow in surprise before nodding for her to continue. "We did research into Rowena Ravenclaw to try and find something of hers you might have used, eventually we found reference to a missing diadem. One of the Order members, a former Ravenclaw, told us about it and described it for someone to draw."

"How did they describe it, if it's missing?" Voldemort wondered, as far as he knew there were no pictures of the diadem still in existence.

"There's a bust of Rowena Ravenclaw in the Ravenclaw common room and she's wearing her diadem apparently." Hermione said, repeating what Luna had told them about the item of jewellery.

"Let's guess, like the cup you have no idea where it is?" Voldemort smirked, wondering just how inept the Order really was.

"No, we know exactly where it is." Hermione said, enjoying the fact she could wipe the smug look of Voldemort's face. "When Dean drew the picture of the diadem, I immediately recognised it. I'd seen it in the Room of Requirement while Draco was fixing the vanishing cabinet in sixth year."

"You told them where to find it? How did you explain how you'd seen it?" Voldemort asked, wondering what sort of excuse her idiot friends had bought.

"I didn't have to tell them. Before I could think of an excuse as to how I'd seen it, Ginny told everyone she'd seen it the day she'd hidden Harry's potions book." Hermione said, her eyes darkening with anger as she remembered the day that Ginny had referred to.

"Ah, Severus' old book that Potter got the spell from that nearly killed Draco." Voldemort said, sensing the subject was a perfect way to maintain the brunette's anger towards her friends.

"Yes." Hermione snapped, not wishing to discuss the matter further.

"So if you knew where the Diadem was, why not go and get it? I know for a fact the wards at Hogwarts aren't an issue for you?" Voldemort wondered, amazed the Diadem was still in the school if it's presence was known about.

"When I explained I could break through the wards, no one believed me." Hermione said, still bitter her friends hadn't believed in her abilities despite everything she had done in the past. "They reckoned it was impossible, they wouldn't even give me a chance to prove it to them."

"Idiots." Voldemort said scornfully, everything he was hearing confirmed his suspicion that without the brave girl in front of him the Order would be nothing and even more inept and useless than it already was.

Hermione and Voldemort sat in silence for several minutes, both contemplating the conversation they had just had, before Voldemort spoke again.

"That still doesn't answer my original question, why now?" Voldemort said, his mind ticking back to the beginning of the discussion. "The plan for Draco to plead innocence surely became extinct years ago, once he might have been an unwilling Death Eater but not anymore."

"I know, but until recently I didn't want to admit to myself that we were in trouble with our plan." Hermione said, hating how stupid she sounded. "It took Draco pointing out some facts, before I finally admitted to myself that if Harry won the war I would lose Draco."

"So, for years you've ignored the fact by fighting for Potter you've been fighting against your boyfriend and your relationship." Voldemort said, summing up Hermione's life for the past few years.

"Yes, luckily Draco made me face up to reality and I realised I need to do something to ensure our relationship survived." Hermione said, wondering if she was weak for following her boyfriend to the dark side.

"And this was the only way?" Voldemort asked, genuinely interested if she had ever considered trying to get Draco to turn to the light.

"Yes, Draco would never be accepted by the Order and I would never ask him to give up his family."

"But you would give up your beliefs?" Voldemort asked, curious as to how a Muggleborn could support someone who discriminated against her kind.

"No, I still believe people shouldn't be judged by their blood but by their magical ability, maybe one day I can prove that to you." Hermione said, staring challengingly at Voldemort who merely smirked at the brunette. "But living in a world where Muggleborns have restricted magic is better than living in a world without Draco."

Voldemort couldn't help feeling proud of the feisty Muggleborn, while she was willing to sacrifice fighting for her beliefs she wasn't willing to give up on them. He suspected after they won the war she would be bugging him on Muggleborn's and the fact she obviously believed they had a right to magic, maybe one day he would listen to her, it would be incredibly difficult to ignore the fact a Muggleborn had won the war for them.

"I think it's time we carried on with the plan now." Voldemort said, looking at the clock on Hermione's wall. "Draco should be informing us of Potter's escape any minute now."

Hermione nodded and stood up, she wasn't looking forward to having to destroy her flat to make it look like Death Eaters had attacked. Hermione had initially argued over the damage to her property but the Dark Lord had been adamant everything had to look authentic in case anything went wrong with their plans.

Brushing aside her sentimentality to the small flat she called home, Hermione helped Voldemort make the place look like an altercation had taken place.

"Do you have access to outdoors?" Voldemort asked, surveying the wrecked flat.

"There's a small balcony off the kitchen, why?" Hermione asked.

"Come." With a swish of his long black cloak Voldemort headed for the kitchen, beckoning Hermione to follow him.

"What now?" Hermione asked when they were standing on the small balcony.

"Now we leave proof we were here." Voldemort said, turning and looking at Hermione. "You can do the honours."

"You want me to produce the Dark Mark, won't the muggles see it?" Hermione asked, unsure if she could do what was being asked of her.

"No, that's the beauty of the spell only magical beings can see it."

Hermione nodded and drew her wand, she was aware that Voldemort was testing her and her ability to do as he asked. Feeling his red eyes watching her every move Hermione took a deep breath and pointed her wand to the dark sky.

"Morsmordre." She said forcefully, impressed when the smoke erupted from her wand and formed the Dark Mark above her flat.

"Good." Voldemort said, turning and heading back into Hermione's flat.

Hermione stood watching the Dark Mark for a few seconds, before turning to head back inside. On the way back into her small kitchen she noticed her necklace was glowing red.

"It's time." She told Voldemort as she entered the room.

"Very well, give me your arm." Voldemort said, holding out his hand.

Hermione looked at Voldemort confused by his request but gave in when he continued to hold his hand out and look at her expectantly. Taking her left arm in his hand, Voldemort muttered something under his breath and the Dark Mark on Hermione's arm shimmered and disappeared.

"It's just hidden as a precaution so no one sees it." Voldemort explained, noting Hermione's surprised expression. "You will still be able to feel it though."

"Thank you." Hermione said, she had forgotten all about having to hide her new mark.

"Time for the last part, do you want to do it or shall I?" Voldemort asked Hermione.

"You." Hermione replied, closing her eyes.

With a swish of his wand Voldemort made it appear as though Hermione had been involved in a fight, her clothes were ripped and slashed and several cuts and bruises appeared on her pale skin. Again Voldemort was impressed with Hermione's courage, like when she had received her mark she showed no outward sign of being in pain.

"Done." Voldemort said, after making sure the wounds he had inflicted were sufficient enough to back up Hermione's story but weren't too severe as to hurt her too badly.

"I'll let you know when we're heading for Hogwarts." Hermione said, preparing herself for the most difficult thing she would ever have to do in her life.

"Good Luck, Hermione." Voldemort said as Hermione prepared to apparate away.

Hermione took one last look at the dark wizard standing in front of her before she turned on the spot and apparated to the safe point where Harry and Ron should be.


	20. Chapter 20

Hermione appeared in the middle of the forest where she and the boys had camped during the first year of the war. Back then she had hoped to be defeating the man she was now working for.

"Hermione!"

Hermione turned around at the sound of Harry's voice to find her friend standing beside a large tree, his right arm bleeding from a deep gash and an unconscious Ron lying at his feet.

"Harry, are you alright?" Hermione asked as she rushed to his side.

"Yeah, the headquarters were attacked." Harry said, turning to look down at Ron. "I can't wake Ron, though."

Hermione bent down to examine the redhead. "He's just been knocked out, he'll wake up soon enough."

"Are you alright? Were you attacked as well?" Harry asked, taking in Hermione's dishevelled appearance.

"Yes, I was getting ready for the meeting when a couple of Death Eaters broke into the flat." Hermione lied perfectly.

"If both the headquarters and your flat were attacked, that means the other houses could have been as well." Harry exclaimed, the potential devastation slowly occurring to him. "I need to go and check."

"Harry, don't be stupid." Hermione cried, grabbing hold of Harry's arm to stop him from leaving. "It's too dangerous."

"But…" Harry started to protest before Hermione managed to stop him again.

"Use your patronus to contact everyone else. You were the one who set the system up, Harry." Hermione told her friend. "Use it as you would expect anyone else to do."

"You're right." Harry sighed, unable to argue with Hermione's logic.

"Of course." Hermione said as she got out her wand and started casting spells Harry didn't recognise.

While Hermione was checking out the surrounding forest, Harry released his stag patronus and sent it to the other Order safe points.

"What are you doing?"

Harry had finished with his patronus and had turned around to find Hermione on her hands and knees beside a large tree a few feet away from where Ron was lying.

"Retrieving this." Hermione replied, pulling a backpack from a hole in the base of the tree.

"What is that?" Harry asked shocked.

"Supplies."

After the backpack, Hermione pulled another bag from the hole and handed them both to Harry who was watching her with an open mouth. Hermione stood up and brushed the dirt of the knees of her jeans before turning to look at Harry, who was standing holding the bags.

"When you first set up the safe points, I came and hid some supplies just in case we needed to run." Hermione explained to Harry who still looked bewildered by the presence of the bags.

"That's brilliant." Harry exclaimed, impressed by Hermione's forward thinking.

"Thanks, I figured if we ever had to run we wouldn't have time to take anything so it'd be useful to have some things already here."

"What's in here then?" Harry asked, opening the first bag.

"A couple of tents, medical supplies, a couple of useful potions, food and a few clothes." Hermione said, watching as Harry delved into the first bag.

As Harry started emptying the first bag, pulling out one of the tents, two things happened at once. Ron started to wake up and the silver horse patronus belonging to Ginny entered the clearing in the forest. Hermione went over to Ron, to deal with him while Harry listened to the brief message Ginny's patronus delivered.

As Hermione was explaining things to Ron and checking he was alright after spending so much time unconscious, she noticed a few more patronus' entering the clearing and delivering messages.

"This is terrible." Harry moaned, sitting down on the hard ground next to Ron.

"How bad is it?" Ron asked, wincing at the throbbing in his head.

"Very, so far there only appears to be five other people who escaped."

"Maybe, the others haven't responded yet." Hermione said, wondering if the people who hadn't responded had been killed or captured.

"I'll give them another few minutes." Harry said, looking into the distance hoping to see more silvery animal forms heading his way.

"Then what?" Hermione asked, wondering if Harry was planning something stupid.

"We'll arrange to meet and then we work out what happened and what to do next." Harry replied.

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief, so far she hadn't had to talk Harry out of doing something reckless.

"Let me see to your arm while we wait." Hermione said, gesturing to Harry's arm that was still bleeding slightly.

Harry let Hermione heal his wound while the three former Gryffindors waited for any sign of life from the unaccounted for members of the Order.

"I don't think anyone else is going to respond." Ron said, wondering who had responded to Harry, he had been too preoccupied to notice the forms the patronus' were taking.

"No, I need to send a message for everyone to come here." Harry sighed, wondering how many people had died over the course of the night.

"How will anyone know where to find us? We're the only people who know our safe point." Hermione pointed out.

"Damn, I forgot that." Harry exclaimed, standing up and beginning to pace the floor. "I'll have to go and apparate everyone back."

After a brief three way discussion, it was decided that Harry would visit every safe point and apparate people back while Hermione and Ron would set up a camp. Harry had explained he had visited every safe point when the plan was first laid out so he could contact any other member of the Order in case of an emergency.

When Harry apparated away, Hermione gave Ron the tents to set up while she put up some precautionary wards around the area they were camping in. While Hermione was putting up the wards she could hear Ron grumbling and muttering the entire time, she was unsure if he was muttering about the tents or the events that had happened earlier in the night.

A sharp pop announced Harry's return, causing both Hermione and Ron to turn and see who he had brought with him.

"Ginny." Ron exclaimed, running to embrace his younger sister who was crying heavily.

As Ginny cried into Ron's shoulder, Hermione quickly embraced Luna who had also been accompanying Harry. Hermione knew the two girls shared a safe point with Neville, his absence suggested he was either dead or captured. With one final look at a crying Ginny, Harry apparated away to his next destination.

Hermione asked Luna to help her set up a fire, as she kept one eye on the two Weasley siblings. Ginny's reaction was too strong to just be a reaction to the raids and Hermione found herself wondering what exactly had happened to reduce the redhead to such a mess.

"Mr Weasley." Luna whispered, noticing where Hermione was looking.

"What?" Hermione asked, looking at the dippy blonde beside her.

"The reason Ginny's so upset, Mr Weasley died saving me and Ginny."

Hermione was silent, she wasn't sure what to say. While she knew her defection would lead to the death of some of the Order, having it actually happen was very different. Hermione had always liked Arthur Weasley, unlike Molly who often irritated her with her smothering behaviour, Hermione found the elder man pleasant to spend time with.

While Hermione was still digesting the news of Arthur's death, Harry returned again, this time with their former school mate, Dean Thomas.

Dean warily looked at the two upset Weasley siblings, by this time Ron was also crying, before heading over to where Hermione and Luna were still building a fire. Flashing the girls a sad smile, Dean started to help with the fire, expertly arranging the twigs and branches in a pile.

Hermione knew Dean had been staying at the Tonks' house with Seamus since Draco had attacked their home just over a week ago. She also knew that Seamus shared a safe point with Dean, alongside Angelina Johnson and Katie Bell, their absence meant they hadn't escaped from whichever house they had been in at the time of the Death Eater raids.

Just as Dean was lighting the fire, Harry returned this time bringing with him Fred and George's best friend, Lee Jordan. As Harry departed again, the remaining members of the Order quietly gathered around the fire, Ginny still crying softly against Ron's shoulder.

Sitting around the fire watching the devastated faces, Hermione began to doubt whether she could follow through with her plan. If she was honest with herself, she had never considered anyone else but Harry in her plans to turn to the dark side. As Hermione sat waiting for Harry to return, she wondered what would happen to everyone if Voldemort won the war. While they had discussed Harry's death, no one else had been mentioned so she had no idea what the Dark Lord planned on doing with the remaining members of the Order.

Hermione's thoughts were interrupted by Harry returning one last time with the only other Order member to have escaped, Charlie Weasley. Charlie immediately headed for his two youngest siblings and embraced the pair of them. Hermione put her head down so she didn't witness the grief of the three redhead's, if she wanted to stay focused on her mission she couldn't let herself become affected by people she was sitting with.

"We need to talk about what happened tonight." Harry announced, sitting down beside the roaring fire. "Figure out what happened and how."

"What's to figure out, we were attacked." Ron hissed, his eyes red from crying.

"I know Ron, but how did they know where to attack?" Harry said.

"Malfoy. I bet it was him." Ron spat.

Hermione's head whipped up at the sound of Ron accusing Draco.

"Of course, he already proved he knew where Dean and Seamus lived." Harry said, eager to blame the blond he had detested since the first year of school.

"That doesn't explain how he knew about the headquarters or any of the safe houses." Charlie pointed out before Hermione found her voice.

"Someone obviously told him, I can't believe we never figured this out when he revealed he knew Hermione's address." Harry said angrily. "We've been so stupid."

"Harry, that's not the same." Hermione gently said to her friend, disturbed by how eager he seemed to be to pin the blame of Draco. "Neither my flat or Dean and Seamus' was protected by the fidelius charm. All he had to do was some research to find out where we lived."

"Come on, Hermione, you don't honestly think Malfoy researched where you live. Someone told him." Ron said. "Probably the same person who sold us out tonight."

Hermione shook her head, knowing it was useless to argue with her two best friends. Both Harry and Ron were determined to blame Draco and nothing she could say would make a difference.

"We'll worry about Malfoy later, for now we've got to figure out how to rescue everyone else." Harry said, drawing the group's attention back to him.

"How do we even know there's people left to rescue." Ginny said softly, still upset by earlier events.

"The Death Eaters seemed to be capturing more than killing." Harry said, wondering for the first time about the unusual tactics employed by the dark side. "At least at Grimmauld Place."

"It was the same at Shell Cottage." Charlie nodded, agreeing with Harry. "Both Bill and Fleur were captured."

"Angelina wasn't." Lee said, causing all heads to look in his direction. "She died."

"I'm sorry, Lee." Harry said before turning to Dean. "Where were you, Dean and what happened?"

"I was at the Tonks' house. Like you said the Death Eaters were more interested in capturing then killing." Dean explained. "I know for a fact that Seamus was captured, I saw one of the Death Eaters slap some handcuffs on him and then he disappeared."

"I think that's what happened to mum." Ron exclaimed. "I heard her squeal and I looked round just in time to see her disappear."

"So she's alive." Ginny sighed, relieved.

"For now, but who knows what'll happen to the people who've been captured." Harry said, not wanting to upset Ginny but wanting to get his point across. "That's why we need to think about rescuing people."

"How do you plan on doing that?" Hermione asked. "We all know they're probably been held at the safest building in the country, Malfoy Manor."

"So we stake the Manor out and break in." Harry said matter of factly.

"Because it's so easy to break into Malfoy Manor." Hermione said, even though she knew she could do so.

"I didn't say it would be easy." Harry glared at Hermione. "But we have to do it."

"Harry, it's suicide." Charlie insisted, trying to be the voice of reason. "All we'll succeed in doing is giving them more captives."

"So we just leave the rest of our family to rot." Ron snarled at his older brother.

"I'm not saying that, Ron." Charlie sighed, wishing his brother wasn't so hot headed. "I'm just trying to be realistic."

"Maybe we should get some rest and we can discuss things in the morning." Hermione said, sensing Ron was about to begin a row with his brother.

"That's a good idea." Lee said, standing up. "Does anyone need to keep watch?"

"I've set up some wards, one of them will sound an alarm if anyone comes within a certain distance of us." Hermione explained.

Everyone was relieved to hear that no one would have to stand guard and the eight remaining members of the Order sorted out who was sleeping where and headed off to bed.

Hermione was sharing a tent with Luna, Dean and Lee. It was decided the that Ginny should be with both her brothers and her on-off boyfriend, Harry, as she was so upset.

Lying in her sleeping bag, Hermione thought about how eager her two friends were to immediately blame Draco for the night's raids, it seemed their hatred for her boyfriend was growing stronger every day. Hermione sighed and rolled over, at least Harry and Ron's actions were making her new loyalties easier to remember. While Hermione felt bad for the rest of the Order and she hoped they wouldn't all have to die, she was still determined to carry out her orders from Voldemort, despite her earlier moment of weakness.


	21. Chapter 21

Hermione watched Ginny set off her patrol as she stood leaning against a tree in the woods behind Malfoy Manor. It had been five days since the raids on the Order's buildings had taken place and she still hadn't managed to persuade Harry to drop his ridiculous rescue mission. The morning after the raids Harry outlined his decision to post a constant two person guard on Malfoy Manor with the aim of eventually breaking into the building. Hermione had argued against the decision but Harry was adamant, he was in charge and they would do what he said.

The last five days had produced a division in the small group of Order members, Ron and Ginny had blindly followed Harry's decision and wouldn't hear a word against his bad judgement. Both Lee and Charlie had sided with Hermione's more logical argument that they should be concentrating on defeating Voldemort, but Harry wasn't listening to reason any more. Luna and Dean had both refrained from joining sides, instead they worked on trying to bring everyone together and stop the arguing that was a constant presence in camp.

Harry's pig headedness was the reason Hermione was standing in the woods behind the Manor, wondering how she was going to fulfil her orders from Voldemort. No argument Hermione had managed to come up with so far had persuaded Harry to move on from his rescue mission and Hermione was rapidly running out of ideas.

The only idea she had at the minute involved proving to Harry it was dangerous to be lurking outside the headquarters to Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Despite apparently watching the Manor closely, none of the other members of the Order had realised that Voldemort was aware of their presence, Hermione had spotted Lucius watching them from a window on several occasions and she knew the blond man would have made sure their presence was known to the Dark Lord.

Hermione was so lost in thought she failed to notice the person sneaking quietly up behind her. The first Hermione knew of the presence behind her was when a hand came over her mouth, stifling the scream that threatened to escape at the contact.

"Be quiet, Weaselette might hear."

Hermione relaxed immediately as she recognised the voice whispering in her ear. Moving the hand covering her mouth, Hermione turned and came face to face with her smirking boyfriend.

"What are you doing here?" She asked her boyfriend, checking that Ginny was nowhere in sight.

"I live here, Granger. What's your excuse." Draco smirked, moving forward slightly so Hermione was trapped between him and the tree that she was leaning against earlier.

"You know what I mean." Hermione rolled her eyes at Draco's smartarse attitude.

"I thought I'd come and see if everything was alright." Draco said. "Camping outside the Manor wasn't part of the plan."

"It's Harry, he's obsessed." Hermione told Draco, relived to finally be able to talk about her growing frustration with her friend.

Hermione then quickly explained to Draco about Harry's rescue plan and his refusal to listen to reason.

"Maybe I can help you." Draco said, after Hermione had finished talking.

"How?" Hermione asked, grateful that Draco was trying to help her.

"You want Potter to abandon his rescue mission." Draco said, an idea forming in his head. "He might if he realises how much danger is involved in spying on us."

"I thought about that, but I don't know how to achieve it." Hermione sighed.

"That's where I come in." Draco grinned. "Who'll be here tonight?"

"Ron and Dean." Hermione replied, wondering what her boyfriend had planned.

"Good, tonight Weasley will see I don't like to be spied on." Draco smirked, thrilled Weasley was on patrol tonight.

"What are you going to do?" Hermione asked, warily.

"You'll find out tonight." Draco replied, not revealing his plan. "Just make sure you capitalise on what happens and convince Potter to go to Hogwarts."

Hermione wanted to question Draco more but she knew him well enough to know he wouldn't be forthcoming on the subject.

"Thank you." She settled on saying, giving him a quick kiss. "I just wish I could have done my part without help."

"You would have thought of something." Draco said trying to reassure Hermione, he was only just realising how much her inability to get Potter to listen to her opinion was bothering her. "Besides I'm just speeding things up for my own sake."

Draco chuckled softly at Hermione's confused look and decided he should explain himself.

"The quicker you complete your part of the plan, the quicker we get to be together. I miss waking up with you." Draco explained, the few days Hermione had spent at the Manor before the raids had made their newest separation even harder.

"I miss waking up with you, too." Hermione smiled.

Draco dipped his head and kissed Hermione passionately, pressing her further into the tree. Hermione responded eagerly to Draco's kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck and playing with his soft hair. Draco's hand trailed down Hermione's body to play with the hem of her top, slowly he moved his hand back up under her top and towards her breast.

Hermione moaned softly into Draco's mouth when his hand cupped her breast over her lacy bra. Hermione broke the kiss as Draco's hand continued to massage her breast and tease her hard nipple.

"We shouldn't do this here, Ginny might come back." Hermione gasped, feeling Draco's arousal pressing against her thigh.

"And she might not." Draco replied, kissing Hermione's neck.

Any protest Hermione might have mustered was dismissed when Draco moved his head and kissed the brunette witch. Hermione lost herself in Draco's embrace, running her hand under his shirt and drawing her nails down his spine. Without breaking the kiss Draco's hand's fell to Hermione's waist where they began to unbutton her jeans.

Hermione broke the kiss, needing air, and helped Draco manoeuvre her jeans down her legs while she started to unbuckle his belt. While it wasn't the easiest position to have sex, they managed to manoeuvre themselves enough so Draco could enter Hermione.

Knowing Ginny could appear at any moment they knew they had to be fast, luckily they had plenty of practice with quickies while at school. It didn't take long before Draco had Hermione on the edge of her orgasm, he knew her body extremely well and knew exactly how to turn her on quickly. Not long after they began, Hermione reached her peak, triggering Draco's release as hers hit her.

For a few minutes Draco stayed inside Hermione as they both recovered, eventually he pulled out and the pair of them quickly readjusted their clothing to make themselves presentable.

"I should be off, before Weaselette returns." Draco said once they were both decent again.

"Okay. Thank you for the help." Hermione smiled, giving Draco a peck on the cheek. "Be careful tonight."

"I always am, baby." Draco replied, giving Hermione a quick kiss before stepping away from the brunette.

A sound nearby caught both Hermione and Draco's attention and made their heads swivel towards the sound. Worried it might be Ginny returning, Hermione turned back to Draco only to find the blond had disappeared. A second later, Hermione breathed a sigh of relief that Draco had scarpered quickly when Ginny emerged from the trees coming from the direction in which the rustling noises had been coming from.

* * *

After his encounter with Hermione, Draco headed back to the Manor. He was relieved that Weaselette had waited until they had finished before returning, The Dark Lord wouldn't have been happy if Hermione's true loyalties were exposed before he had Potter in his grasp.

Draco entered the Manor and headed for the library, the room that Voldemort was using as his office in the Manor.

"I suppose you've been to fix your mudblood girlfriend's problem."

Draco whirled round at the sound of his father's voice, he saw Lucius leaning against the living room door with a glass of firewhisky in his hand.

"Don't you dare call her that." Draco threatened his father, knowing if it came to it the Dark Lord would back him over Lucius.

"I notice you didn't deny you've been helping her." Lucius spat. "So much for her being the way to Potter, she can't even steer him in the right direction."

"That's been taking care of." Draco said, carrying on walking past the living room.

"By you, not her." Lucius grumbled, before turning and leaving Draco standing in the hallway staring after him.

Draco shook his head at his father's attitude, he had hoped after their talk that he would be more tolerant of Hermione and their relationship. Unfortunately the day after their talk was the day that Potter started watching the Manor, and Lucius had been complaining about Hermione's incompetence ever since.

Deciding to deal with his father later, Draco headed for the library where he found the Dark Lord sitting at the desk.

"Draco, I take it things went well." Voldemort greeted the blond with a smirk.

"Yes." Draco replied, wondering how much about his encounter with Hermione, Voldemort knew.

"Good, I hope that means Potter and his friends will be heading for Hogwarts soon."

"They should be, I can't see Potter wanting to stick around after tonight." Draco smirked, looking forward to his upcoming meeting with Weasley.

Voldemort smiled at his protégée, pleased to witness his dark side was still evident despite the love he had for Hermione.

"It will be a relief leaving tomorrow to know that Potter won't be hanging around here any longer." Voldemort said, looking out of the window towards the woods.

"Where are you going tomorrow?" Draco asked, he had never heard the Dark Lord mention a trip before now.

"We are going to Belgium." Voldemort announced. "There's something I need to pick up."

"Whose we?" Draco asked, wondering if he meant himself or his aunt Bella, they were the only two of his Death Eaters that ever travelled with him.

"Me and you." Voldemort said, standing up. "I'll be here to pick you up at nine, don't be late."

"I'm never late." Draco smirked.

"Good. Nagini, come." Voldemort said, leaving the room.

Draco watched as the snake untangled itself from where she was lying, curled up with Crookshanks, and followed her master out of the room. Since Crookshanks arrival the day of the raids, the cat and snake had formed an attachment to each other and would often curl up together whenever Nagini was in the Manor.

"Come on, Crookshanks." Draco said, picking the cat up and heading to his wing of the Manor.

Unless Voldemort and Nagini were around, Draco preferred the cat to stay in his wing of the large house. While his mother was quite fond of the animal, Lucius despised the ginger cat and the feeling seemed mutual as Crookshanks would hiss whenever the elder Malfoy appeared in his line of vision.

Arriving in his wing, Draco put Crookshanks down and the cat headed straight for Draco's bedroom. When Draco entered the room, he found the cat curled on his bed, where it had slept every night since his arrival. Picking up his book from the bedside table, Draco headed out onto his balcony to read before the night's fun he was planning on having.

* * *

Hermione was sitting by the fire, chewing her bottom lip nervously. Ron and Dean had relieved her and Ginny from watching the Manor a couple of hours ago and Hermione was curious as to what her boyfriend had planned for the pair.

"Are you okay, Hermione?" Charlie asked, sitting down next to the brunette.

"I'm fine." Hermione attempted a smile, hoping to reassure the redhead.

"It's Harry isn't it." Charlie said, everyone had picked up on the atmosphere between the two friends. "Don't worry, he'll come round eventually."

Hermione nodded absent-mindedly, she was getting sick of Harry and his attitude. If it wasn't for the Dark Lord and his orders, she would have abandoned Harry days ago. Since her return from patrol hours ago, Harry had pointedly ignored her, so Hermione had sat by the fire in silence.

What Harry didn't realise was that his attitude was only proving to Hermione that she was doing the right thing by joining the dark side. While she had her doubts the first night in the forest, Harry's attitude and actions combined with her brief encounter with Draco earlier in the day spurred Hermione on, making her more determined the ever to deliver Harry to the Dark Lord so she could finally begin living her life.

A commotion on the other side of the fire suddenly drew Hermione's attention, together her and Charlie ran to see what was going on. Arriving at the assembled group, Hermione saw Ron lying on the floor writhing in agony.

"What's wrong with him?" Ginny cried.

"Let me see." Charlie said, squatting down next to his brother. "Someone pass me a calming draught."

Lee hurried over to the supply bag and rummaged around until he found the potion in question and handed it over to Charlie.

"Harry, hold him down." Charlie ordered, as he tried to administer the potion.

With Harry's help Charlie got the potion into his brother and was finally able to calm him down enough so he could check over his injuries.

"Ron, you've got a broken arm." Charlie told his brother, who was no longer crying and whimpering.

"Is that it?" Ginny asked. "I meant, was there nothing more serious." She hastily added when everyone looked at her.

"No, just a few cuts and scrapes." Charlie explained as he cleaned Ron up. "But the arm was broken by magic, it hurts much more than if you break it another way."

"Hermione can you make me a sling please." Charlie ordered, as he checked out Ron's injured arm. "And bring a pain relief potion."

"Can't you fix it with magic?" Harry asked, looking at his friend.

"Yes, but we still need to put it in a sling for extra protection. A limb broken by magic takes longer to heal." Charlie explained. "Thanks, Hermione." He said, as Hermione handed him a sling.

"Ron, this is going to hurt. Sorry." Charlie grimaced as he pointed his wand at his brother.

A blood curdling scream pierced the forest as Charlie cast the spell to heal Ron's arm. Carefully he put the arm into the sling and gave Ron the pain relief potion.

"It'll hurt for a few weeks, but you'll be soon be good as new." Charlie told his brother.

"Thank you." Ron rasped out, finally able to talk once the pain started subsiding.

"Ron, do you feel up for telling us what happened?" Harry asked, anxious to know what had brought him back to camp without Dean.

"Yes, but can I have some water first."

"Sure." Harry reluctantly agreed as Luna took Ron to sit by the fire and handed him a flask of water.

"How did you know Ron's arm was broken by magic, Charlie?" Lee asked as everyone gathered around the fire.

"A friend of mine in Romania once had it done to him, during the first wizarding war, he told me all about it. It's an extremely hard spell to master and it apparently hurts like hell." Charlie explained.

"I can confirm that, it's the worst pain I've ever felt." Ron said, finishing his drink.

"What happened Ron? Where's Dean?" Harry asked, satisfied Ron was fit to talk.

"We were doing patrol as normal when I heard a noise, I went to investigate and found Dean and Malfoy fighting." Ron started.

"Malfoy, I should have known it was that evil bastard." Harry exploded, interrupting Ron's story.

"Anyway, just as I arrived Malfoy managed to get some of them handcuffs on Dean and he just disappeared." Ron continued, after agreeing with Harry about Draco's nature. "Malfoy saw me and started to come towards me, I drew my wand but before I could cast a spell he threw a curse at me and I was in agony with the pain in my arm."

"How did you get away?" Luna asked, engrossed in Ron's tale.

"I'm getting to that." Ron shot Luna a withering look, not noticing the one Hermione shot at him in return. "I was lying on the floor and Malfoy came and stood over me. He then told me he didn't appreciate people spying on him and his family and if he ever saw another member of the Order in the vicinity of the Manor he would kill them. He then told me to pass the message on to Harry, then he just left."

"You mean he let you go?" Lee asked, surprised Ron had survived a confrontation with the Death Eater.

"Yes, I could hardly deliver the message if he killed or captured me." Ron explained.

The group sat in stunned silence for several minutes, digesting the fact that Dean was now captured and it was no longer safe to watch the Manor.

"I think tonight proves it's time to change tactics." Charlie said, breaking the silence.

"I agree, it's time we got to work on defeating Voldemort." Hermione said, gaining immediate support from Charlie, Lee and Luna.

"But everyone's still being held prisoner and Malfoy has to pay for what he did to Ron." Harry shouted, Ron and Ginny agreeing with him.

"Harry it's time you started focusing, you're supposed to be trying to defeat Voldemort. Not getting revenge on Malfoy." Hermione shouted, standing up to face her friend. "Do what Dumbledore wanted you to do and destroy the Horcrux's."

Hermione stormed away from the fire, worried in case she said something in anger she would later regret. Hermione sat down under a tree on the edge of the campsite, she could see the others sitting round the fire having a heated discussion but she couldn't hear what was being said. When she calmed down she was planning on returning to camp and try again with Harry. She had gotten a reaction with her mention of the former headmaster and wasn't against using the memory of the old man to get Harry to comply with her wishes.

An hour later, Hermione had calmed down enough to return to camp, just as she was about to stand up Harry plonked himself down beside her.

"We've decided to head for Hogwarts in the morning." Harry told her, looking unhappy with the decision.

"But you don't want to." Hermione surmised.

"No, I think we need to rescue the others. But Lee pointed out the school holidays have just begun so the school will be empty, bar a handful of Death Eaters." Harry sighed.

"You're doing the right thing Harry." Hermione smiled, placing a hand on Harry's arm.

"I hope so." Harry said, shrugging off Hermione's touch and standing to glare at the brunette. "You better be able to get through the wards, or we'll have wasted our time."

"I'll get through the wards, don't worry." Hermione replied, put out by Harry's condescending attitude towards her.

"Make sure you do." Harry ordered before heading back towards camp.

Hermione stared after Harry, disgusted with the way he had just talked to her. Hermione watched as Harry ignored everyone in the camp and headed straight into his tent, Ginny and Ron watching sadly as he brushed past them without speaking. Hermione headed back to camp herself, she had plans to make for the following day. Finally she could begin following her orders and deliver Harry to Voldemort. Nearly a week after the raids they were finally heading in the right direction, Hogwarts.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N- I know some of you were looking forward to the battle at Hogwarts, it will be coming soon but Draco and Voldemort have some business to firstly attend to over the next couple of chapters. **

* * *

Draco made sure he was dressed impeccably before exiting his room and heading for the dining room for some breakfast. He wanted to have something to eat before Voldemort arrived to pick him up for their mystery trip to Belgium. Arriving in the dining room he was surprised to find his mother was the only member of his family present.

"Where's father?" He asked, sitting down in his usual seat and picking up a piece of toast.

"He's not feeling well, so he's still in bed." Narcissa replied, sipping her tea from a delicate china cup.

Draco merely raised his eyebrow instead of responding, what his mother really meant was that his father had a hangover. The last time Draco had seen his father was yesterday afternoon and he had already started drinking then and most likely he had continued to do so for the rest of the night. While Lucius was by no means a drunk, he did occasionally over indulge, usually when something was bothering him.

"What are your plans for the day?" Narcissa asked her son, hoping to avoid talk of Lucius, she knew Draco was aware of why her husband wasn't at breakfast.

"The Dark Lord's coming to pick me up, he's got some business to attend to." Draco replied, he was unsure how much his mother knew of Voldemort's plans and it wasn't his place to reveal them.

"That's nice, dear." Narcissa smiled, pleased the introduction of the Granger girl in their lives hadn't affected Draco's relationship with The Dark Lord.

Draco and Narcissa spent the rest of breakfast making small talk, before Draco excused himself.

By five to nine Draco was waiting in the hallway for Voldemort to arrive. One minute before nine Voldemort stepped through the front door, pleased to see Draco ready and waiting for him.

"Good, you're ready." Voldemort announced, grabbing Draco's arm. "Let's go."

Without another word, Voldemort apparated away, taking Draco along for the ride.

* * *

"It's just a short walk to where we're going." Voldemort announced, setting off down a narrow country lane as soon as their feet touched the ground.

Draco followed the Dark Lord, taking deep breaths to ease the queasiness he felt. While Draco had no problems when apparating, side along apparition always made him queasy for some unknown reason.

As Voldemort walked along in silence, Draco used the opportunity to observe his surroundings. They had arrived in the middle of the countryside and all Draco could see for miles were fields and more fields, the only things he could see that weren't fields were two large boulders by the side of the road. Looking ahead at the direction in which they were headed, all Draco could see was more fields, leaving him stumped as to their final destination.

"Where are we going?" Draco finally asked, pulling level with Voldemort on the narrow path.

"To visit a reclusive wizard who has been doing some research for me." Voldemort said.

"What sort of research?" Draco questioned, it was the first he had heard of The Dark Lord needing someone to do some research for him.

"You'll see." Was the only response Draco could elicit from the dark wizard he was travelling with.

Fifteen minutes later, Voldemort stopped abruptly surprising Draco and almost causing him to collide with the elder wizard.

"Why have we stopped?" Draco asked, puzzled.

"We're here." Voldemort announced.

Draco looked about, as far as he could tell there was nothing different about their surroundings apart from two tall trees on the right side of the path. The path they had been travelling on seemed to extend for miles and there were empty fields on both sides of the path.

Before Draco had a chance to ask any more questions, Voldemort turned and headed to one of the trees.

"Draco, go and stand in front of the other tree." Voldemort instructed, pointing at the second tree a few metres away.

Draco followed his orders, even though he was thoroughly confused by The Dark Lord's behaviour. Arriving at the tree, Draco examined it for any peculiar markings, as far as he could tell it was a normal tree. Looking over to The Dark Lord, Draco saw him press his wand up against the bark of the tree he was standing in front of. Catching a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye, Draco turned back to his tree and saw a small oval had appeared carved into the bark of the tree.

"Put your Dark Mark up against the tree where it's carved out." Voldemort instructed, his wand still pressed against the bark of his own tree.

Draco rolled up his sleeve and pressed his mark against the hole, he felt a sharp sting and looked to Voldemort for permission to remove his arm again. Receiving permission, via a nod from The Dark Lord, Draco removed his arm and looked at the tree. In the carved oval there was now a perfect replica of the dark mark carved into the bark of the tree.

Before Draco had a chance to react, the field they were facing started to shimmer and slowly it transformed into a beautiful garden filled with flowers and a small pond. Draco noticed a small white fence with a gate and a pathway leading from the road they had been travelling down, at the top of the path was a small white cottage with red roses surrounding the door.

Voldemort stepped towards the white gate, and opening it he gestured for Draco to follow him. Shutting the gate behind them, Draco followed The Dark Lord up the path to the cottage. When Voldemort raised the door knocker to knock on the door, Draco noticed it was shaped like a snakes head. Voldemort rapped twice on the door before standing back and waiting for a response.

After a couple of seconds the door was opened by an old man, with long grey hair and green eyes. The old man vaguely reminded Draco of Albus Dumbledore, except he didn't seem as alert as his former headmaster.

"My Lord." The old man said, bowing to Voldemort. "Sir." He nodded respectfully in Draco's direction.

"Miguel." Voldemort greeted as the old man stepped aside allowing Voldemort and Draco to enter the cottage. "Is it ready?"

"Yes My Lord, follow me." Miguel replied, turning and heading down a short corridor into a large living room decorated in various shades of green. "Please sit."

Voldemort sat down on the large sofa gesturing for Draco to join him, which he did. Miguel went over to a picture of a horse on the wall and swung the painting to one side revealing a safe, he quickly unlocked the safe using his wand and opened it up. When the safe was open, Miguel reached inside and pulled out a large wooden box with intricate patterns carved around the base.

"This is it." Miguel announced, bringing the box over to the table that stood in front of the sofa that Voldemort and Draco were sitting on.

Voldemort sat forward as Miguel opened the box, intriguing Draco as he had never seen The Dark Lord so eager. Carefully Miguel pulled out a small vial of clear liquid and handed it to Voldemort.

"You're sure it works?" Voldemort questioned, holding the vial up to the light causing it to look pale purple.

"Yes, but as we discussed before it won't work on anyone over forty and has temperamental effects on anyone between thirty five and forty."

"You couldn't solve either of those problems?" Voldemort asked, sounding vaguely disappointed.

"Not yet, I'm still working on it though." Miguel said, looking warily at the dark wizard.

"Very good." Voldemort said, handing the vial back to Miguel who replaced it carefully in the box.

"Will that be all, My Lord." Miguel asked, handing Voldemort the ornate box.

"Yes. I expect you followed my other instructions." Voldemort said, staring hard at the old man.

"Yes My Lord, I've got enough supplies to last me a week." Miguel responded, bowing his head in deference to the wizard sitting in front of him.

"Good." Voldemort said, before turning to Draco who was incredibly intrigued by proceedings. "Draco I want you to ward the property so Miguel can't leave."

Draco was surprised by the request but got up and set about warding the property as Voldemort had requested.

"Draco will be back after I have tested the potion myself." Voldemort told Miguel once Draco had finished applying the wards. "If I'm satisfied he will remove the wards and pay you as agreed, if I'm not satisfied you will suffer the consequences."

"Yes, My Lord." Miguel said, not looking worried by the threat he had just received.

"Goodbye, Miguel. Let me know of any progress you continue to make with the potion." Voldemort said as he stood and headed to the front door.

"Of course, It will be an honour to serve you again." Miguel bowed deeply again, reminding Draco of an over keen house elf.

With one last nod to the old man, Voldemort swept out of the cottage with Draco following closely behind him. Draco was dying to know what the conversation was about and what sort of potion the box Voldemort was carrying held, but he knew better than to ask.

When Voldemort and Draco exited the cottage garden and shut the gate, the cottage and it's beautiful surroundings shimmered and disappeared, leaving the bare field in its place. Voldemort turned and headed back up the road, the way they had travelled earlier, stopping when he reached the two boulders that Draco had noticed on arrival.

"We're heading back to the Manor, now. I'll explain everything once we're there." Voldemort told Draco, recognising the questioning look in the young man's eyes.

Draco nodded and prepared to apparate home, at least he wouldn't feel sick after this apparition as he would be going solo.

* * *

Once back at the Manor, Voldemort suggested they head to Draco's wing so they could talk privately. Despite being bemused by the fact The Dark Lord wanted to go to his wing, something he had never requested before, Draco agreed and the pair settled into his personal library.

"I suppose you're wondering why I wanted to come here." Voldemort said, placing the box he was carrying on the desk and taking a seat.

"Yes, why didn't we just go to the library downstairs?" Draco asked, wondering about Voldemort's strange behaviour.

"I wanted to talk to you without any chance of interruptions." Voldemort explained. "And I don't want anyone else knowing of my plan until I'm sure this potion will work."

"What sort of potion is it?" Draco asked, he had been trying to think of what sort of potion Voldemort might require but he couldn't come up with anything.

"It's a magical draining potion." Voldemort said, absentmindedly stroking the ornate box. "It strips the recipient of all magical abilities."

"I didn't think anything like that was possible." Draco exclaimed, shocked by the use of the potion.

"Miguel's been researching it for years, not that I ever thought it would work." Voldemort said.

"Who is Miguel and how do you know him?" Draco asked, aware that most people wouldn't dare ask Voldemort such a personal question. Draco however wasn't most people, he was The Dark Lord's right hand man and as such had privileges that no one else had.

"I met Miguel when I was travelling, shortly after leaving school. He's an expert at inventing new potions and spells, he taught me a lot."

"Yet you still threatened him." Draco noted.

"Yes, you should know by now I expect the best from everyone. Even those I care about." Voldemort said.

"I know." Draco nodded. Even the two most important people in Voldemort's life, himself and Bella, were not immune from The Dark Lord's threats.

"I suppose you're wondering what I'm planning on doing with it." Voldemort said, not bothering to wait for an answer he continued speaking. "I'm going to use it to disable the Order, making sure they are never a threat to me again."

"You're planning on stripping Order members of their magic?" Draco asked, shocked by the revelation.

"Some of them." Voldemort shrugged.

"Why only some?"

"You heard Miguel say the potion wasn't suitable to over forty's, obviously they won't be getting the potion." Voldemort said, watching Draco's stunned reaction.

"So everyone under forty will be getting the potion?" Draco asked, his mind flowing with questions he wanted to ask.

"Not everyone under forty will get the potion. Some of those Order members have talents I can utilise. They will all be offered a choice, live with my rules or take the potion." Voldemort said, wondering how Draco would react to his plan.

"Do you honestly think any of the Order would agree to abide by your law?" Draco questioned, unsure if Voldemort had thought his plan through thoroughly.

"Yes, things will be very different when I win. Faced with the choice of losing their magic or complying to me, I think a few will cherish their magic enough to agree." Voldemort explained, knowing desperate people would do all sorts of things to survive.

"What about those who get the potion?" Draco asked, curious as to what Voldemort planned on doing with dozens of witches and wizards with no magic.

"Anyone who gets the potion will also get their memories wiped and will be relocated into the muggle world." Voldemort explained. "It will be a long and delicate process, but it's the best solution.

"Why? Wouldn't it be easier to just keep the Order imprisoned or kill them?" Draco questioned.

Voldemort chuckled slightly, he knew Draco didn't like killing and was surprised he had considered it as an option.

"It would be too dangerous to keep the Order as prisoners, they could still make things difficult for us. And as for killing, it seems such a waste of young life. I'm surprised you considered it an option." Voldemort said, watching Draco for a reaction to the dig he had made.

"I may not like being involved in the killing part of my job, but I know it takes place." Draco said, glaring at The Dark Lord. "Now why don't you tell me the real reason you won't just kill everyone, I know you well enough not to buy your pathetic it's a waste of young life story."

"You mean I wasn't convincing." Voldemort tutted, smirking at Draco's ability to read him. "Put simply, the reason I'm reluctant to kill them is you."

"Me? I don't understand, I've never liked killing but it's never affected how you run things before." Draco exclaimed, unsure of what Voldemort was thinking.

"Technically I suppose the reason is you and Hermione." Voldemort conceded, wondering how to explain things to Draco.

"Hermione?" Draco questioned, surprised Voldemort had even considered Hermione's feelings on the subject.

"Yes, despite her turning to us your girlfriend is still emotionally involved with the Order. If I ruthlessly kill everyone she might resent me and turn against me, and I'm sure you'll side with her and I don't plan on losing you." Voldemort began explaining, disliking the fact he was exhibiting his rarely seen softer side.

"If you're that worried about her reaction to your post war actions, why did you let her join in the first place? I know she's given us valuable information but Potter hasn't been a real threat in years." Draco asked, shocked by Voldemort's display of emotion.

"You're right we weren't in desperate need of the information she gave us, we would have won the war eventually, actually it turns out Potter was even more useless than I thought." Voldemort said, knowing he was about to reveal to Draco just how much he meant to him. "The reason I let her join us and the reason I'm considering her reaction to post war events is simple, you. I let her join because I could see how much you loved each other, I didn't want to risk losing you if I refused her request." Voldemort said softly, wishing the conversation was over. "Besides I like the girl, she's incredibly gutsy."

"So you've looked into alternate ways of disposing of the Order for me and Hermione?" Draco asked, not quite believing what he was hearing.

"Yes, defeating Potter isn't the end, we still need to set up new laws and rules if we want change in this world. You and Hermione will hopefully be a big part in that." Voldemort explained, hoping he was sounding less sentimental.

"Thank you." Draco said, he wasn't sure what else to say to the man sitting opposite him.

"You and Hermione can both thank me by remaining loyal and helping after the war is over." Voldemort said, trying to regain his frosty demeanour. "Now we need to discuss this potion, it needs testing this afternoon."

"Have you got a test subject in mind?" Draco asked, relieved the emotional talk was over, he wasn't great at that sort of thing.

"No, but I think we'll discuss it after lunch." Voldemort said, checking the clock on the wall.


	23. Chapter 23

Draco sat in the main library at the Manor, watching as Voldemort flipped through the list of prisoners looking for a suitable candidate to test the potion on. After lunch, during which Lucius had shown up and made continuous digs at Hermione until Voldemort ordered him to stop, Draco and The Dark Lord had retired to the main library instead of making the trek back to Draco's wing of the large house.

Before the raids had taken place Voldemort had told Hermione to make a detailed list of the Order members, listing their ages, magical abilities and there most likely whereabouts on the night of the raids. Draco had assumed the lists were just to enable them to work out how many people were captured, killed or had escaped during the raids. They had actually used the lists in that capacity the morning after the raids, Draco had discovered the identity of the dead member of the Weasley family that he had steeped over in Grimmauld Place, Percy Weasley. They also used the lists to work out how many Order members had escaped and had joined up with Potter, including Hermione there was eight definitely missing members and a couple of people who they were uncertain about.

Watching The Dark Lord scanning the information Hermione had left, Draco realised the lists had a dual purpose, Voldemort wanted information on the prisoners to work out if they could be any use to him in the future.

"I have a few possibilities." Voldemort said, breaking the silence in the room. "There's actually quite a few seemingly useless people, but I've narrowed it down to a few."

"I'm surprised there's any useful people." Draco sneered, the easy way they had brought down The Order had shown them to be totally inept in Draco's opinion.

"There's a few." Draco chuckled. "The Weasley twins for a start, they are quite ingenious and have made a significant contribution to The Order."

"I suppose." Draco conceded.

In the days following the raids the houses that had been secured were searched for any vital information, one of the more interesting discoveries were prototypes for several Weasley Wizard Wheezes products and plans and ides for dozens more products.

"I've found four possible candidates, and I want your opinions." Voldemort told Draco. "First there's Seamus Finnegan and the newest prisoner Dean Thomas."

Draco thought about the possibilities of his two former school mates before offering his opinion on the pair.

"The only skill I ever saw Finnegan display was an ability to blow up anything. Though that may be useful." Draco said, remembering how many times the Irish boy blew up his cauldron in potions. "As for Thomas, I know very little about him."

"So we'll keep Finnegan for later." Voldemort said. "The other two possibilities are Oliver Wood and Katie Bell."

Draco couldn't help but flinch when Voldemort mentioned Katie's name, memories of what he had accidentally done to the girl in sixth year flooding his mind.

"Ah, one of them bothers you, which one?" Voldemort asked, wondering about Draco's out of character display of emotion.

"The girl." Draco admitted, cursing himself for being so transparent in his discomfort.

"Why? Surely it's nothing of a romantic nature." Voldemort said, curious about Draco's problem with the girl.

"Sixth Year." Draco said quietly, knowing Voldemort would keep pressing until he admitted his problem. "She was the student who ended up cursed by the necklace."

"Oh." Voldemort was lost for words, he knew how hard Draco had found that year. "What about Wood?" He tried to resume the conversation and take away Draco's discomfort.

"The only thing Wood was good for was Quidditch. He was an okay keeper, I guess."

"Wood it is then." Voldemort announced, pleased Draco seemed more comfortable. "I want you to go and get him and bring him back here, I'll go and get the potion."

Draco left the library and headed down stairs to the dungeons where the prisoners were being held.

Draco hadn't been in the dungeons since the morning after the raids and as such couldn't remember where he would find the former Gryffindor keeper. Even though every cell had a silencing charm on it, to keep all noise inside an individual cell, Draco wasn't keen on searching through them all to find the man he wanted. Reaching for his wand, Draco cast a spell to reveal Wood's presence.

The spell indicated Oliver Wood was been held in a cell near the bottom of the right row. Making sure he was composed and unreadable, Draco headed down the stone corridor towards the cell. When he reached the cell, he looked through the small hole in the door, assessing where he would find Wood.

Opening the door, he entered the room to be greeted with frosty glares from the four occupants of the room. Ignoring the stares Draco headed to the corner where Wood was sitting.

"Get up." He ordered.

"What if I don't want to?" Oliver sneered, as the other three occupants laughed slightly.

"If you don't get up yourself, I'll make you." Draco shrugged, not impressed with Wood's small rebellion act.

"You better make me then." Oliver replied, looking at Draco defiantly.

"As you wish." Draco said, producing his wand. "Imperio. Now get up."

Draco watched as Oliver tried and failed to fight the imperius curse.

"Fight it Oliver." Simultaneous voices called from behind Draco.

Draco turned to see the three other occupants of the room, the Weasley twins and Dean Thomas, straining against their restraints and shouting at Wood. Annoyed by the interruption Draco absentmindedly waved his wand, silencing the three onlookers. Turning back to Oliver Wood, he noticed the former Gryffindor was standing up, with another flick of his wand Draco released Oliver form his restraints.

"Come with me, walk to the door and wait outside." Draco instructed, keeping his wand pointed at Oliver just in case of any trouble.

Oliver obeyed Draco despite trying to fight the curse the entire time. When they were out of the cell Draco re-locked it and turned to Oliver.

"There's really no point fighting it, I'm too strong." Draco sneered at the former Gryffindor as he refused to give in to Draco's superior magic. "Walk."

Draco gave Oliver directions and walked him back to the library where The Dark Lord was waiting for their return.

"Good you brought our little guinea pig." Voldemort grinned as Draco entered the room.

"Sit." Draco told Oliver.

When Oliver obeyed him, Draco restrained him against the chair and released him from the imperius curse. Oliver struggled with his invisible bindings and looked around the room wildly, hoping to spot a chance to escape.

"Surely you're not stupid enough to try and escape while I'm in the room." Voldemort said, looking Oliver directly in the eye and twirling his wand in his hand.

At the sight of The Dark Lord sitting with his wand, Oliver stilled reluctant to be on the receiving end of one of his curses.

"What do you want with me?" Oliver asked, summoning all his courage. "I won't tell you where Harry is." He raised his chin defiantly at the last sentence.

Voldemort laughed darkly, causing a shiver to run down Oliver's back.

"I don't need you to tell me where Potter is. That's all sorted." Voldemort said, enjoying the look of fear that appeared in the young man's eyes. "Draco get our guest a drink."

Draco headed over to the table where the ornate box stood, opening the lid he pulled out a vial and walked back to Voldemort. Oliver eyed the vial warily, wondering what sort of torment was held in the small glass. Voldemort nodded slightly to Draco, who advanced on Oliver.

"Open up, or I'll make you." Draco threatened.

Oliver shook his head, clamping his mouth shut, if they wanted to give him some sort of unknown potion he was going to fight it all the way.

"Imperio." Draco growled, annoyed by the stubborn Gryffindor. "Now open your mouth."

Oliver reluctantly opened his mouth, knowing he didn't stand a chance of throwing off the powerful curse. Draco poured the potion into Oliver's mouth and forcefully shut it making the older man swallow the potion.

As soon as the potion started running down his throat, Oliver started screaming loudly and thrashing against his restraints. Draco hurriedly stepped away from the thrashing man, releasing him for the spell and looked at Voldemort for an explanation for the excruciating pain Oliver seemed to be in.

"Did I forget to mention, the potion is extremely painful to take." Voldemort smirked.

"That part you failed to mention." Draco said, watching as Oliver continued to scream and thrash about in his seat.

For nearly five minutes Oliver screamed and thrashed about. Draco was incredibly relieved every room in the Manor was sound proofed, the noise coming from the former Gryffindor would have had everyone in the house demanding to know what was happening in the library.

When the screaming and thrashing has stopped, Oliver sat slumped in his chair, breathing heavily.

"Draco, get Mr Wood's wand." Voldemort ordered.

Draco headed for a oak cabinet in the corner, after the Order members were captured their wands were taken off them and labelled as to who they belonged to. Each wand was then placed into a small box and each box was placed into the cabinet that only Voldemort and Draco had access to. Waving his wand to cast the unlocking spell, Draco searched the cabinet for the small box that held Oliver's wand. Finding the box, Draco removed it from the cabinet and locked all the other wands securely back inside.

"Release Mr Wood and give him his wand." Voldemort told Draco as he sat back in his seat to enjoy the show.

Draco removed Oliver's wand from the box and placed it in front of him, he then stepped back before removing the bindings that were tying Oliver to the chair. Weak from the potion, Oliver slumped to the floor, his wand lying inches in front of him.

"What sort of game are you playing?" Oliver gasped out, reaching for his wand.

"No game, it's more of an experiment." Voldemort chuckled.

Slowly Oliver got to his feet, clutching his wand in his hand, warily eying Voldemort and Draco who were watching him quite unconcerned by the fact he was armed.

"Expelliarmus." He weakly shot at Draco, who was holding his own wand limply in his hand.

When nothing happened, Oliver looked shocked and tried again, with no more success than the first time. The lack of success seemed to bolster Oliver's spirits and he began throwing all the hexes he could think of at The Dark Lord and his most trusted Death Eater.

"Why?" Oliver gasped, after another failed effort to cast any magic at the pair. "If you're going to shield yourself, why give me my wand?"

"There's no shield." Draco said, waving his wand and throwing Oliver back into his chair.

Oliver sat still, the significance of what had just happened occurring to him, if Voldemort and Draco weren't protected by a shield then he had lost his magic. The potion he was forced to take had stripped him of any magical ability, he was now a muggle.

"Draco, take Mr Wood back to his cell." Voldemort said, dismissing Draco with a wave of his hand. "Oh, and remove the silencing spells in the dungeons."

Draco placed Oliver's wand onto the desk and hauled the elder man up, without the use of the imperius curse. Oliver was so busy trying to work out what had happened to his magic, he proved no trouble for Draco as he took him back to the dungeons and relocked him in the cell with his three curious friends.

* * *

"It worked." Draco grinned as he sat back down opposite Voldemort.

"Yes, it would seem so. We need to check it holds though before we pay Miguel." Voldemort mused, happy with the afternoon's proceedings. "Did you remove the silencing spell?"

"Yes, in a few hours everyone in the dungeons will know what we've done to Wood." Draco replied, knowing the reason Voldemort wanted to remove the spell was to create a bit of panic amongst the prisoners.

"Good, by the time it's time to move them to Hogwarts they should all be aware what I can do." Voldemort said. "Speaking of Hogwarts how long do you think we've got?"

"Not long, I would expect a couple of days at the most." Draco said, looking forward to seeing Hermione again.

"That quick?" Voldemort questioned, wondering if Hermione had managed to persuade Potter to head to the school.

"Yes, They've not been back since last night's attack on Weasley. Hopefully they left for Hogwarts today, and it shouldn't take Hermione long to figure out how to break the newest wards." Draco said, trying to predict Potter's movements.

"You added new wards?" Voldemort asked, he was unaware of Draco doing such a thing.

"Yes, after Hermione broke into Hogwarts a few weeks ago I added a couple of new ones." Draco shrugged. "Although it should be easier for her this time as all she has to do is drop the wards not alter them."

"Good, hopefully within a week we'll have finally won the war and then we can start looking forward to the future." Voldemort said, flashing Draco a genuine smile.


	24. Chapter 24

"You said you could do this." Harry snapped.

"I can. I do need some time though." Hermione retorted, trying to keep calm.

"Harry, we've only been here since yesterday afternoon, and she only started working on the wards this morning. Give Hermione a chance." Charlie said, stepping between the warring pair.

"Fine." Harry said, turning and heading to the other side of the cave they were currently in.

"I'm going back down to work on the wards some more." Hermione sighed, leaving the cave and her so called friends behind.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Charlie asked, following the brunette out of the cave.

"No, I'm fine." Hermione smiled, wanting to be alone.

"Okay, be careful." Charlie warned, watching as Hermione made her way towards the school nearby.

Heading to Hogwarts, Hermione was relieved to be away from Harry, the tension between the two of them was growing with each passing minute. Hermione partly blamed the fact that her and Harry were fighting before the raids and had failed to reconcile, for the tension between them. But she was unsure why he was taking most of his frustration with the situation they were in out on her. While they had disagreed about Harry's tactics in the days following the raids, things had become distinctly frosty between them since the night before last when Harry reluctantly agreed to coming to Hogwarts.

When they awoke the next morning the plan had been to pack up and leave immediately for Hogwarts. Ron's arm however was extremely painful and sore and he was unable to travel until after lunchtime. Hermione suggested they split into two groups and the first group head to Hogwarts while the others waited till Ron was fit to travel. Harry immediately argued against the idea of splitting up, leading to the first of many arguments in the group.

As usual Harry got his own way and the group didn't leave for Hogwarts until mid-afternoon. The night before they had discussed where they would stay, as Hogsmeade was under Death Eater control. Harry had eventually decided the caves in the hills near Hogsmeade, where Sirius had once hidden out, were there best option and the group assembled there and set up a small camp.

When they arrived Harry led a small group, including Hermione, to Hogwarts to get an idea on the level of security while the others stayed behind and sorted out the camp. They stayed watching Hogwarts for several hours, observing the minimal security in place during the school holidays. Heading back to camp tired and hungry after several hours observation, Harry decided Hermione should wait until morning to start working on the wards.

Not wanting to get into another pointless argument with Harry, Hermione agreed and after having a small bite to eat went to bed. Hermione was woken at the crack of dawn early this morning by Harry, who demanded she get to work on breaking the wards. Hermione had told Harry she would get to work on the wards after she had washed and eaten, causing another row as he believed she should head to the school immediately.

Hermione stuck to her guns and washed and had something to eat before she left the cave. As she did leave to head to the school she heard both Lee and Charlie telling Harry off for the way he had been treating her. Grateful for her friends sticking up for her, she headed to Hogwarts to check the wards.

When Hermione settled down in her spot just outside the boundary line to the school, and shielded from any patrolling Death Eaters, she discovered the presence of three new wards. Hermione examined the new wards, puzzled that Draco had failed to mention he had put new wards in place since her last visit. Hermione had assumed the wards would be exactly the same as last time she broke in, making it a relatively simple job. The addition of the new wards meant Hermione needed time to study them and break through them, so when she returned to the cave for something to eat she told Harry she still had a lot of work to do, which caused the latest argument between the pair.

Still smarting from her latest fight with her so called best friend, Hermione settled down in her spot to begin to work on breaking the new wards. Once she figured out how to break through the new wards, it would be easy to gain access to the school. When she had broken into Hogwarts, weeks ago, Hermione had altered the wards to let her specifically through them but this time all she needed to do was drop them to allow the whole group access to the school.

Brushing thoughts of her fights with Harry aside, Hermione began to work on the new wards that Draco had erected after her previous visit. Two hours later, Hermione knew how to disable one ward and was close to cracking a second one. The sound of a twig cracking behind her, made Hermione whirl round in shock, only to find Charlie approaching her.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." Charlie said, noticing the surprised look on Hermione's face.

"That's okay, I'm just slightly jumpy." Hermione said, smiling at Charlie.

"That's understandable, you are doing something very dangerous." Charlie said, sitting on a rock near to where Hermione was sitting.

"I'm just doing what needs to be done." Hermione said, not sure if she meant breaking the wards or turning to the dark side.

"How are you doing?" Charlie asked, worried that Hermione was struggling under the pressure Harry was putting her under.

"Good, a few more hours work and I think I'll know where I stand." Hermione replied.

"When do you think we'll be ready to enter?" Charlie asked, not revealing how anxious Harry was becoming.

"I'm not sure, maybe tomorrow night." Hermione said, hoping to move things along as quickly as she could, she was growing tired of the charade she had to keep up.

"Don't overstretch yourself, Hermione." Charlie warned. "Harry will just have to be patient."

"I don't think he knows how any more." Hermione laughed darkly.

Charlie nodded in agreement, he had watched Harry get more reckless as the war went on and he was surprised by his recent attitude towards the brunette witch who had been his friend for so long.

"Can I ask you a question?" Charlie waited for Hermione to nod before continuing with his question. "How can you break through the wards so quickly?"

"I first started studying them years ago, so it's only the newer ones I need to work out." Hermione replied, wondering if Charlie suspected anything was going on.

"If you've been studying them for years why hasn't anything been done earlier to break in and retrieve the Horcrux?" Charlie asked bemused.

"You mean you don't know?" Hermione looked puzzled by Charlie's lack of knowledge on the subject. "When I first mentioned I could break the wards, I was dismissed and told it was impossible. Whenever I've brought it up since Harry said he didn't want to risk his life in case I couldn't deliver."

"They actually doubted you? Idiots." Charlie stated, wondering how he didn't know about Hermione's abilities before.

Hermione smiled at Charlie's support, it was nice to have someone on the light side believe in her. "I should get back to it." She said.

"Do you mind if I stay?" Charlie asked, curious to watch Hermione at work.

"Sure." Hermione told Charlie.

* * *

"So you think we can go tomorrow night." Ron said, stuffing a sausage in his mouth.

"Yes, I'll know better tomorrow." Hermione nodded. "But I think we should start planning."

After working on the wards for a few more hours Hermione and Charlie returned to the cave with the news that Hermione was close to breaking the wards. The small group were now having supper and discussing the progress Hermione had made.

"What if you can't break them tomorrow? What if it takes longer?" Ginny asked.

"Even if I can't break them tomorrow it will be soon, so it's best we have a plan." Hermione replied, annoyed the red haired girl was doubting her.

"I have a plan." Harry said, grabbing the group's attention. "After Hermione drops the wards, me and Ron head into the school to retrieve and destroy the Horcrux while Lee and Charlie stand guard outside."

"What about us girls?" Ginny demanded, putting her hands on her hips and staring at her on-off boyfriend.

"You and Luna will stay here while Hermione will be at the school's boundary dropping the wards." Harry said, sounding definite in his plans.

Hermione listened to the conversation panicking, the entire plan involved everyone heading into Hogwarts. Hermione wanted to argue with Harry's decision, but knew the way things were between the pair of them, Harry was unlikely to listen to her.

"No, you always say we should stick together." Lee said, solving Hermione's problem on how to intervene. "Splitting us up in four different places isn't safe."

"Lee's right, we need to stick together." Charlie said, wondering why Harry was suddenly trying to split the group.

"But it's pointless everyone entering the school." Harry protested.

"Everyone doesn't have to go to retrieve the Horcrux, but it's safer if we're all together." Charlie insisted.

"We should vote." Ginny said. "Hands up if you back Harry's plan."

Harry and Ron were the only ones to raise their hands.

"I guess that settles that. Two versus five." Lee said.

"It's settled, we all go together." Charlie stated, looking at Harry and daring him to argue.

Harry didn't bother arguing, instead he glared at everyone who had opposed his idea and stormed out of the cave. Ginny quickly stood up and followed him, hoping to calm him down. After Harry and Ginny's departure the rest of the group sat round the fire discussing tactics for the following night.

When Harry and Ginny returned an hour later, Harry apologised for his outburst and settled down to listen to the other's opinions. While the group talked about their plans, Hermione was surprised by Harry's reasonable attitude, it was almost like dealing with the old Harry.

By the time they were ready to turn in for the night a solid plan had been established. After Hermione dropped the wards, everyone would make their way into the school, Harry was confident the Death Eaters on patrol weren't anything special and wouldn't prove a problem to get round. Once in the school Harry, Ron and Hermione were planning on going to the Room of Requirement to retrieve the Diadem while Luna, Charlie, Lee and Ginny were to head to the Chamber of Secrets to get a Basilisk Fang to destroy it. Once both groups had accomplished their missions they were going to meet back in the great hall and destroy the Horcrux.

The mood in the cave was a lot brighter that night, as everyone was getting along and working towards the same goal. Harry had even told Hermione there was no rush to break the wards, she should take her time and not rush and they would break in when she was confident she had mastered the wards.

Hermione fell asleep that night wondering exactly what would happen when they entered the school, Voldemort hadn't been clear on what would happen once she delivered Harry to him. She wondered if he would attack immediately or wait and see what Harry did once he was inside the building.

* * *

Hermione smiled, she had finally figured out the workings of the last ward and knew how to drop it. The last ward had ended up been more complicated than she had initially thought and it had taken her a day longer then she expected to work it out. Despite what he had said about her taking her time, Hermione was unsure of what Harry's reaction would be when she informed him they would have to delay their plans by at least twenty four hours. Harry had been surprisingly calm and told Hermione it was fine and it would give him more time to teach Ginny Parseltongue, something he was doing so she could gain entry to the Chamber of Secrets.

Confident that Harry would move tonight, Hermione pulled her necklace out of her top and sent a message to Draco. Looking at her watch, Hermione saw it was two o'clock. That give The Dark Lord and his Death Eaters plenty of time to set up in the school before they entered the school later tonight.

Placing her necklace back under her top, Hermione set off back down to the cave to inform Harry and the others of her success and to make the final preparations for the night's showdown.

* * *

A knock on the door disturbed Voldemort, he was sitting on the sofa in the library of Malfoy Manor talking quietly with Bella about the future.

"Come in." He called, not moving from his seat beside his lover.

The door opened and Draco entered the room, not batting an eyelid at his aunt and The Dark Lord sitting so closely on the small sofa.

"It's time." Draco announced.

"Good." Voldemort said, rising from his seat. "Bella, start organising the prisoners."

"Of course." Bella said, giving Voldemort and Draco a smile before leaving the room.

"Are you ready Draco?" Voldemort asked his second in command.

"Of course, I've been waiting for this night for weeks." Draco smirked.

"Good, I'll call everyone together and then we leave." Voldemort said. "It's time to show Potter he never stood a chance at defeating me."


	25. Chapter 25

"Is everything in place?" Voldemort asked, coming down the main stairs into the entrance hall in Hogwarts.

"Yes, the concealment charm in the Great Hall is in place. And I've set the wards so that two minutes after Hermione drops them a new one goes up preventing anyone leaving the school grounds." Draco said, from his place by the doors leading into the Great Hall.

Voldemort headed to where Draco was standing and peered into the large room, it looked deserted. Voldemort nodded happily, the charm was perfect. Until it was lifted you wouldn't be able to see that the Order members he was holding as prisoners were chained around the room ready to witness Potter's demise.

"Very good, and everyone is waiting nearby for my signal?" Voldemort checked.

"Yes, but all the classrooms have the same spell as the Great Hall. If Potter or anyone else looks into them all they'll see is a deserted room." Draco said, anxious to get the night over with.

"They should be here soon, it's already dark." Voldemort noted, looking out of the window at the night sky.

"We better get ready then." Draco said as the two men headed into the Great Hall to await the arrival of the remaining members of The Order.

* * *

"Hermione, are you ready?" Harry asked.

The entire group was gathered beside the boundary line for Hogwarts, waiting for Hermione to drop the wards and allow them access to the property.

Hermione took a deep breath to steady her nerves. "Yes." She nodded raising her wand.

Hermione carefully lifted the wards, her heart hammering in her chest. She was extremely nervous about what she was doing, while she knew she was doing what was best for her and Draco she felt sorry for the likes of Charlie who had done nothing wrong and had been a huge support for the last week.

"They're down." Hermione said.

The group hurried over the boundary line and ran to the edge of the forbidden forest. Their plan was to sneak round the edge of the forest, hiding in the shadows until it was safe to break free and head to the school.

Slowly walking around the edge of the forest, Hermione felt a magical presence wash over her and surround the property. Quickly checking the others, she realised no one else had noticed the presence of the spell activating. Hermione was pretty sure the ward was to make sure no one left the school grounds, her fate was sealed there was no going back now. Although Hermione was smart enough to realise her fate was actually sealed the moment she asked to join The Dark Lord. From that moment on it was simple, either she delivered Harry to Voldemort or Draco wouldn't survive.

"One at a time, make your way to the castle." Harry said, as they arrived at the spot where the forest was closest to the castle. "Lee, you go first."

Once they were sure the coast was clear, Lee ran for the castle, hiding in the shadows of the old building when he arrived. One by one they made their way to the castle, Ginny went next followed by Luna then Charlie. Hermione, Ron and Harry brought up the rear of the group.

With Harry in the lead, the group edged their way around the castle towards one of the doors in the back of the building. Harry had decided it was safer to enter the building via the back rather than use the front door.

"It's locked." Harry whispered, after trying for several minutes to open the door.

"Surely you know how to unlock a door." Lee whispered, unimpressed with Harry.

"I've tried it, it's not working." Harry whispered back.

"Blast it open." Ron suggested.

"No." Hermione said as loud as she dared. "There may not be many, but there is still a few Death Eaters on the premises. They'll hear if we blast the door down."

"Hermione's right, let's try another door." Charlie said, looking around to make sure their whispered conversation hadn't given them away.

Harry agreed with Charlie and the group carried on making their way around the building, trying all the doors they came to.

"Why the hell are they all locked?" Ron huffed, as they tried and failed to open yet another door.

"There's only a few Death Eaters here, I suppose it's safer to just have the one door open." Hermione said, beginning to think Voldemort was shepherding them towards the main doors.

"But which one? We've been looking for over half an hour." Ginny muttered, unimpressed with circling the building looking for an entrance.

"The front door would be the obvious answer." Luna said, making a rare contribution to the conversation.

"Let's just walk in the front door, that won't cause suspicion." Ron muttered, shooting dirty looks at the blonde girl.

"I think Luna might be right." Harry conceded, he had been wondering about the main entrance for a while but he was reluctant to use it.

"There's one more door, round the corner. If that's locked I think we might have to consider trying the front door." Charlie said.

Agreeing, the group headed for the last door, unsurprisingly it was also locked. Reluctantly Harry started leading everyone to the corner of the building that led round to the front of the castle.

Reaching the corner, Harry stopped and poked his head around the side of the building checking the coast was clear.

"I'll go and see if the door's unlocked." Harry told the others, before sneaking round the corner and heading towards the large front doors.

Harry reached the doors and carefully pushed, causing the heavy door to open with a loud creak. Harry quickly grabbed the door to stop the noise, opening it just enough so everyone could squeeze through. Turning back towards the corner he nodded to Charlie who had his head sticking around the side of the building waiting for a response from Harry.

Charlie turned to the others and nodded, together the group hurried to the front doors and slipped inside the school.

"Are you alright?" Hermione whispered to Harry, he was standing unmoving looking around the entrance hall in bewilderment.

"It looks the same." He whispered so quietly Hermione barely heard him.

"What do you mean?" She asked, the rest of the group were now paying attention to the pair's conversation.

"I expected it to look different, darker." Harry said, looking at the familiar surroundings. "But it doesn't, it looks exactly like last time I was here."

Ginny gave Harry's arm a squeeze, knowing he was thinking about his final few days in the school he had considered his home, the days after Dumbledore's death.

Hermione felt incredibly guilty as she watched Harry. She wished there was some way to save him as well as Draco, but Hermione was realistic enough to know that wasn't an option.

"We should get going." Ron said, totally oblivious to the whereabouts of Harry's thoughts.

"Yes, we should." Harry said, shaking his head to regain his focus. "Is everyone clear on their plans?"

"Yes." The others chorused in response.

"Gin, you can remember your Parseltongue, can't you?" He asked the redhead.

"Yes, I've been practising." Ginny smiled.

"Okay, let's go." Harry said, leading the group to the stairs.

As Harry led the group of escaped Order members up the stairs none of them noticed the three sets of eyes watching them. One red pair and one grey pair watched them from the doorway of the Great Hall while a smaller black pair watched from their position on the floor, next to the other two pair of eyes.

* * *

Voldemort waited until he was sure Potter and his friends were out of sight before he turned to Draco.

"Secure the door."

Draco stepped out of the shadows in the doorway and headed to the front doors that were still standing slightly ajar. Casting a quick silencing spell so the squeaking noise of the door closing wouldn't be heard by Potter, Draco closed the doors and locked them magically. There was now no escape for Potter and his friends, all the doors and windows in the school were magically sealed and even if someone managed to leave the castle they couldn't get past the ward he had erected earlier.

"Are we still waiting for their return or shall we go to them?" Draco asked. "We know where the Weasley girl's headed, and she won't be alone."

"No we'll wait for them to come back. Going into the Chamber of Secrets won't help them." Voldemort grinned.

"Why? Surely you didn't go down and remove the basilisk fangs." Draco knew all about the significance of the basilisk fangs, a long time ago Voldemort had explained about his Horcrux's and how they could be destroyed.

"No, but having a fang won't do them any good if they've got nothing to use it on." Voldemort said.

"You removed the Diadem." Draco said, understanding where Voldemort had disappeared to upon arrival at the castle.

"Yes, I thought I'd keep it safe." Voldemort smirked, pulling the Diadem from his robes and twirling it in his hands.

"So we wait."

"We wait." Voldemort nodded. "Nagini, keep watch and let us know when they're coming back." He said, to the snake that was slithering around his feet.

As Nagini slithered into the hallway to keep watch from the shadows, Voldemort and Draco settled back into The Great Hall, the concealment charm hiding their presence.

* * *

"Ron, are you having any luck?" Harry shouted across the Room of Requirement.

"No, but it's hard with one arm in a sling." Ron grumbled, rifling through another box.

"How about you, Hermione?" Harry shouted in the direction that Hermione had headed in.

Hermione who was currently scouring a dusty corner of the room, rolled her eyes at Harry's stupid question, if anyone had found the Diadem they would have mentioned it. "No, but there's a lot of junk in here."

The trio had been looking for the Diadem for over half an hour without any success. When they had entered the room, Harry had went straight to the bust where Ginny had described seeing the diadem. When it wasn't there, Harry immediately assumed the worst until Ron pointed out that Ginny had seen it over five years ago, it was possible it had been moved or had fallen somewhere. Harry had immediately relaxed at Ron's reasoning and set the three of them searching the crowded room.

Even though Hermione was searching the room, she felt that Harry's initial reaction on the missing Diadem was spot on. There was no way The Dark Lord would leave his Horcrux lying around when he knew Harry would be entering the building.

After ten more minutes of useless searching, the three met in the centre of the room to discuss their next move.

"It's not here, he's obviously moved it." Harry said, dejected.

"You don't know that, Harry." Ron said, looking around the large room. "We haven't even looked through half the room, it's too big and messy for three people to search properly."

"Maybe we should call for the others." Harry conceded, to Ron's point. "I'll send my patronus to get them."

"No Harry." Hermione grabbed Harry's arm as he raised his wand. "What if one of the Death Eaters sees your patronus running about."

"I never thought of that." Harry said, relived Hermione had stopped him casting the spell.

"I think we actually need to go back to the Great Hall and get the others." Hermione suggested, wondering when The Dark Lord would make his move.

"Me and Ron will go, you stay here." Harry said. "You can keep looking."

Hermione wondered whether she should agree to stay here or head down to the Great Hall with Harry and Ron, she didn't want Voldemort to think she had hidden away from the final confrontation.

"No, we all stay together, it's not safe to leave Hermione on her own." Ron insisted, solving Hermione's dilemma.

"Fine, let's go. We're wasting time." Harry said, heading towards the door.

* * *

"Where are they? They've been gone for nearly an hour." Ginny said, pacing the floor anxiously.

Ginny, Luna, Charlie and Lee had been back from the Chamber of Secrets for twenty minutes and were currently sitting in the Great Hall, unaware that the rest of the Order were concealed in the room. They were also unaware of Voldemort and Draco watching them from beside the doors.

"Gin, sit down and stop making a noise." Charlie hissed, getting annoyed by his younger sister.

Ginny reluctantly sat down next to her brother, but she continued to mutter under her breath.

The sound of the doors opening, caused all four people sitting in the hall to turn and point their wands at the doors. They relaxed when Harry entered the room, followed by Ron and Hermione.

"At last. We've got the fang." Lee said, holding up the basilisk fang in his hand.

"That's great, but we don't have the Diadem." Harry sighed.

"Why not?" Ginny demanded, unimpressed the other group had returned empty handed.

"The room's huge Gin." Ron snarled, not liking his sister's attitude.

As the other's argued over the lack of Diadem, Hermione covertly looked around the Great Hall. When she entered the room, she had felt Draco's presence, he was in the room somewhere. If Draco was in the room it probably meant that Voldemort was also in the room.

Hermione felt the nerves flow through her body, it was starting. Her new allegiance was about to be revealed, she only hoped both her and Draco came through the night unscathed.

"Come on, if we all look maybe we can find it." Harry told the assembled group, turning towards the doors.

A shadow suddenly appeared in front of the doors, stopping the group in their tracks.

"I think this is what you're looking for." Voldemort said, stepping forward and revealing his presence.


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N- Thank you all for the overwhelming response to the last chapter. As so many people were desperate to read the next part I decided to treat you and publish it now. I hope it doesn't disappoint.**

* * *

Harry, Ron, Ginny, Charlie, Lee and Luna immediately pointed their wands at Voldemort as he stepped forward into a patch of moonlight that flowed through the window. Voldemort smirked at the small group, making sure they could see the Diadem he was holding in his hands.

"Harry, what do we do?" Ron hissed at his best friend.

"I don't know." Harry admitted, knowing he was in no position to battle with Voldemort and win.

"How about you stay and have a reunion." Voldemort said.

Suddenly torches attached to the walls burst into flames, illuminating the Great Hall in light. Revealed in the light were dozens of prisoners, handcuffed to the walls. They seemed to be under some sort of silencing spell as Harry could see that several people were shouting but he could hear no sound coming from them.

"Oh my god, Mum." Ginny shouted.

Ginny immediately headed for where her mother was chained to the wall, only to hit an invisible barricade a few feet before she reached Molly.

"What the hell is this?" Harry asked, looking around the room at his friends.

"I thought they should witness your downfall." Voldemort shrugged.

"Maybe it'll be your downfall they witness." Harry replied, trying to unnerve the dark wizard standing in front of him.

"I hardly think so." Voldemort laughed.

"Why not, there's seven of us. There's only one of you." Ron shouted, pointing his wand towards Voldemort.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that Weasley." Draco said, appearing from the shadows and standing beside Voldemort.

"That still makes seven versus two." Lee said, his voice wavering slightly.

At that exact moment the heavy double doors of the Great Hall opened and Death Eater's started pouring into the room, taking up their positions behind Voldemort and Draco. Within seconds The Dark Lord's army stood behind him, ready to do battle.

"Care to count again." Draco smirked.

Harry and the others looked at the mass of Death Eaters in front of them, they were ridiculously outnumbered.

"It doesn't matter, we'll still fight." Harry said, trying and failing to sound brave.

"Why? We both know without destroying all my Horcrux's I can't be killed. Why not give yourself up and save yourself from a painful death." Voldemort said. He was not expecting for one moment that Harry would surrender, the offer was made purely for Hermione's sake.

"Never." Harry shouted, raising his wand.

"Good, I've been looking forward to this." Voldemort hissed, narrowing his red eyes and staring at Harry. "I hope everyone enjoys the show."

Several of his Death Eaters chuckled at Voldemort's last statement. While it triggered something in Harry. Taking his attention away from The Dark Lord, Harry looked around the room at the members of The Order. They had been moved here deliberately, when the raids had taken place Hogwarts hadn't broken up for the summer so they hadn't been here all along. Harry knew form his surveillance at Malfoy Manor that Voldemort had spent most of his time at the large house in the Wiltshire countryside. If he had been holding the Order prisoners at Hogwarts he would have been here instead of at the Manor.

As Harry was realising this, he thought about Voldemort's sudden presence at the school and the way he had suddenly appeared. He had been lying in wait and was expecting them, all the Death Eaters on the premises were proof it wasn't just luck he had caught them.

"You were expecting us." Harry whispered, suddenly understanding the dark wizard's surprising presence.

"It took you a while to figure that one out." Voldemort smirked, surprised that Harry had actually picked up on the fact he had been set up.

"How?" Ginny whispered, not believing what she was hearing.

"We've been betrayed." Harry said, his eyes scanning the prisoners to work out who was missing.

"Who though?" Lee questioned, looking warily around the room.

"By the same person who told all our safe houses." Harry announced, his eyes scanning the crowd for a second time. "Mundungus Fletcher."

"Come on Harry, he's a thief and a coward but he wouldn't do this." Ron said.

"He's not here though. I saw him scarper when the Death Eaters raided Grimmauld Place." Harry said, dying to get his hands on the untrustworthy man.

Hermione stood watching as Harry blindly jumped to conclusions. It hadn't occurred to Harry that Mundungus had no idea they were heading to Hogwarts, so therefor couldn't have told Voldemort of their plans.

"Don't be stupid Harry." Hermione said, drawing attention to herself.

None of the group had noticed she had separated herself off from them when The Dark Lord had made his presence known, so she was now standing a fair bit away from them. But they did notice now she was speaking. Not that it occurred to anyone to question why she wasn't standing with them.

"How on earth would Mundungus know where we were headed." Hermione pointed out.

"Maybe he's been spying on us." Ron said, not wanting to face the alternative.

"No, my wards would have sensed his presence." Hermione said.

"So, it's one of us." Ginny stated, eying Lee and Luna suspiciously.

Both Harry and Ron seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Ginny and they both looked at Lee and Luna who were standing near the back of the party. Charlie however was thinking differently. As Harry, Ron and Ginny's attention was focused on Lee and Luna he turned to face Hermione. It had been Hermione who had pushed to come to Hogwarts and they never could have done so without her amazing talent at breaking through wards.

While the rest of the group's attention was diverted, Hermione had started heading towards Draco but a slight movement caught her eye. She spotted Charlie watching her, realisation dawning on his face. Hermione looked Charlie in the eye, she knew he was aware of her duplicity. While Harry, Ron and Ginny had never considered she might be the leak, Charlie had immediately worked it out.

Sorry, she mouthed to him as she reached Draco's side. Charlie's eyes dropped to between Hermione and Draco where their fingers had intertwined with each other's. Slowly Charlie looked up at Hermione, realising why she had turned to the dark side. Charlie and Hermione looked at each other before Charlie gave Hermione a tiny nod, his way of saying he understood her reasons. He may not like them but he understood them.

Totally oblivious to what else was happening in the Great Hall Harry, Ron and Ginny continued to stare suspiciously at Lee and Luna.

"We haven't done anything." Lee finally said, breaking the uncomfortable silence between the five of them.

"One of you two betrayed us." Ginny snarled, her eyes flashing with anger.

"They didn't" Hermione called.

Everyone apart from Charlie whirled round to face Hermione, stunned to see her standing with the dark side.

"Let her go." Ron screamed, brandishing his wand. He was under the false misconception that the dark side had somehow snatched Hermione and were holding her hostage.

"Hermione, what's going on?" Harry asked, his eyes falling to where she was holding hands with Draco.

"I'm sorry Harry. This was the only way." Hermione shook her head sadly.

"The only way for what?" He asked, the reality of the situation dawning on him. They were all doomed if Hermione had truly changed sides.

"The only way I could be with Draco. If you win this war, you'll kill him. I won't let that happen." The dirty looks Harry kept throwing at Draco reassured Hermione she had made the right decision. There was no way Harry would have let Draco live.

Harry tore his eyes away from the hated blond and looked at his best friend properly. He wondered how she could have changed so much and he hadn't noticed. How on earth had she turned from being the loyal friend he knew to the traitorous bitch standing in front of him.

"You know Harry, you've only yourself to blame." Hermione said, she noticed that Harry still hadn't realised his behaviour had been major factor in her defection. "Your recent actions and attitude have been disgusting. Even if I hadn't turned to be with Draco I still would have left you."

Harry stood shell-shocked, surely he hadn't been so bad that Hermione would abandon him. Slowly his mind ticked over the last week and the numerous arguments he had had with Hermione. He might have been slightly harsh at times but there was a war going on and Harry was only doing what needed to be done.

"No, I don't accept that. You betrayed us I did nothing wrong." Harry shook his head, he refused to admit his actions had been a factor in her change of allegiance.

"Don't believe it, but it's true." Hermione said, she was sad that Harry still couldn't face up to his mistakes.

"You bitch. Don't you dare blame Harry, you're the cow that betrayed us for this scum." Ginny suddenly shouted, pointing her wand at Hermione. "Crucio."

"Sectumsempra." Ron shouted at the same time. He had been standing beside Harry looking shocked by events, but he had suddenly came back to life with Hermione's accusations and Ginny's shouting.

Before Hermione had time to react to the two spells heading her way, Draco had twisted their bodies so Hermione's small frame was shielded by his larger one.

"NO." She screamed, as the two curses hit Draco simultaneously.

As Draco hit the floor, his body convulsing in agony and blood pouring from his wounds, pandemonium reined in the Great Hall.

Hermione instantly dropped to her knees beside Draco, cradling him in her arms and trying to stop the blood flow. Severus quickly arrived and started to try to heal Draco's wounds.

Immediately after Draco was hit, Lucius, Bellatrix and Voldemort all whipped out their wands and pointed them at the small group standing in front of them. Lucius and Bella exchanged a look and a nod before each going after a red head. Lucius pointed his wand at Ron while Bellatrix pointed hers at Ginny. A short flurry of spells were thrown before the two angry Death Eaters had the upper hand.

Hermione was too caught up in looking after Draco to pay much attention to what was happening. She heard both Lucius and Bella scream the killing curse and a quick glance showed both Ginny and Ron lying on the floor, unmoving. Hermione couldn't bring herself to care, she was far more worried about Draco who was losing too much blood for her liking.

Ginny and Ron's death's sparked a flurry of action. Harry, Lee and Luna started firing curses at the Death Eaters starting a full scale battle.

While Harry, Luna and Lee battled the Death Eaters Charlie surrendered as soon as someone approached him. While he was devastated by his siblings deaths, he couldn't shake the image of them both preparing to curse Hermione.

As soon as he surrendered Charlie found himself cuffed and chained to the wall. Sitting watching the battle he contemplated what would happen once Voldemort won, he was under no illusions that Harry was fighting a losing battle. Watching Hermione crying over Draco, Charlie wondered if there was more to the dark side than met the eye. They couldn't be all bad if Hermione was in love with a Death Eater and Voldemort had allowed a muggle born to join his ranks.

...

As the battle raged on, Hermione and Severus battled to save Draco's life.

"Why isn't the spell working?" Hermione sobbed as Draco groaned in pain.

"I think it's a combination of the force Weasley put into the spell and the added effect of the Cruciatius curse." Severus explained, seriously worried about his godson.

"We should get him out of here." Hermione said, worried about stray spells.

"No, he's not stable enough." Severus insisted. "Besides it won't take them long to finish off the last three."

At Severus' words Hermione glanced at the battle, wondering who was still standing. As she watched Lee was flung across the room and Luna was put into a pair of magical handcuffs.

...

"Just us now." Voldemort called to Harry as he gestured for his Death Eaters to stand down.

"Let's finish this." Harry said, knowing he couldn't possibly win.

As soon as Harry had finished talking Voldemort viciously attacked him, causing Harry to immediately go on the defensive. Voldemort continued to attack, shooting several killing curses in Harry's direction. Harry managed to avoid all the curses with a solid defence.

Harry soon realised he was getting no respite from The Dark Lord, he wanted to win and he wanted to win quickly.

Defeating Potter quickly was Voldemort's strategy. He had been planning on enjoying the final battle with his nemesis and dragging it out but Draco being hurt had changed everything.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Hermione cradling Draco as Severus worked tirelessly to save his life. Bella and Lucius stood nearby watching with devastated looks on their faces. Voldemort main priority was Draco so he intended to finish The Boy Who Lived off as quickly as possible.

...

While Harry and Voldemort were locked in their final battle, Hermione was more concerned about her boyfriend. Draco was getting paler by the second as he lost a continuous stream of blood from his vicious wounds. Hermione had also noticed it was getting harder for him to breath.

"Hermione." Draco gasped.

"Don't speak, baby. You need to save your strength." Hermione smiled down at Draco, trying not to cry.

"I love you." He whispered quietly before closing his eyes.

"Severus." Hermione practically screamed. Draco's breathing was becoming increasingly shallow and erratic.

As Draco struggled to breathe, Hermione held him crying silently. Severus desperately tried every spell he knew to save his godson's life.

...

While the battle for Draco's life was taking happening in one side of the room, over the other the battle between Voldemort and Harry was nearly over. Harry was becoming increasingly exhausted by his constant need to shield himself and was becoming more sluggish. Voldemort took advantage of that fact and shot spells at him in rapid succession. Inevitably in his tired state Harry failed to block every spell and he was eventually hit fatefully with a curse.

...

Hermione was vaguely aware that the battle was over, out of the corner of her eye she saw Harry fall to the ground. The war was over, Voldemort had won.

At that precise moment Hermione didn't care about Harry's death or The Dark Lord's victory. All she cared about was Draco, who was slowly dying in her arms.

"You can't leave me. Not after all we've been through." Hermione sobbed to her boyfriend, who was lying unmoving in her arms. "I need you. Please Draco, live."


	27. Chapter 27

"Get the prisoner's back to the Manor, now." Voldemort barked to his Death Eaters as he rushed over to where Draco was lying. "Severus, what's the situation?" He asked, not liking what he was seeing.

"Draco's lost a lot of blood, we need to stabilise him enough to get him home and he needs a healer immediately." Severus explained, never looking up from where he was still trying to heal Draco.

Voldemort bent down and cast a few silent spells over Draco's prone body. Within minutes the bleeding slowed down and Draco was breathing slightly more easily.

"That's the best I can do. Severus, Bella levitate him to the nearest floo network and get him home. Lucius you better go and tell Narcissa." Voldemort said, standing straight. "I'll be back as quick as I can."

"We'll use the fireplace in the staff room, it's only a few doors away." Severus told Bellatrix who was getting into position to levitate Draco.

Carefully Severus and Bella levitated Draco, taking extra care to work together and not jostle him. Lucius led the way out of the Great Hall making sure the pathway was clear of any obstruction's.

Hermione was still sitting where she had been cradling Draco. Her top and jeans were splattered with blood and she was shaking with the shock.

"Come on, Hermione." Voldemort said, pulling Hermione to her feet.

Voldemort looked closely at the young woman, for the first time since he had met her she looked scared and unsure. She was nothing like the confident young witch he had come to know and admire.

"You have to be strong." He told her, moving her head so she was looking directly into his eyes. "Draco needs you. Go back to the Manor and stay with him. I'll be there soon."

"Where are you going?" Hermione whispered.

"To get the best healers, so that they can save Draco." Voldemort said. "He won't die, I promise you."

Hermione looked at The Dark Lord and she found she believed him. She knew he would do anything in his power to save Draco.

"Thank you." She smiled softly at him.

"You're welcome, now go to Draco." Voldemort said, pushing her towards the exit.

As Hermione headed for the door she felt eyes boring into her. Turning to her left she met the blazing eyes of Molly Weasley. Hermione could see the hate pouring out of them, and it was all aimed at her. Hermione didn't blame the woman, she had just lost two children and a man she thought of as a son over the course of the last half hour. Not to mention the fact her husband was dead and Hermione could only assume Percy was as well, as she had seen no sign of him during the course of the night. Turning away from Molly two people on the opposite side of the hall caught her attention.

Hermione looked at Luna and Charlie, both looked at her with a sad expression but Hermione couldn't sense any hate. Luna looked incredibly sad and when she met Hermione's eyes she gave the witch a tiny smile. Hermione was incredibly touched by the friendly gesture and allowed a small smile to grace her own lips.

Looking at Charlie, Hermione saw him mouth two words to her. I understand. Hermione gave Charlie a small smile and continued on her way out of the hall. She would have to talk to Voldemort about Luna and Charlie and make sure he didn't kill them.

Just as Hermione reached the doors, a shock of black hair appeared in the corner of her vision. Turning slightly she saw Harry's body lying on the floor. Hermione stared at her former friend for a brief few seconds before she hurriedly left the room. She would deal with Harry's death later, right now she had more important things to worry about. Right now she needed to be with Draco.

* * *

Hermione flooed directly into Draco's bedroom and hurried to her boyfriend's bedside. His entire family was gathered around the bed. Narcissa was softly crying in Lucius' arms, Bella was sitting on Draco's bed next to him and Severus was standing beside Lucius and Narcissa looking anxious.

"Where's The Dark Lord?" Bella asked, as Hermione appeared in the room.

"He's gone to get some healers. He said he'd be back soon." Hermione responded, her eyes scanning over Draco. "How is he?"

"A bit better, at least he's stable." Severus said.

"I'm so sorry. This shouldn't have happened, he was protecting me." Hermione said, looking at Narcissa.

"It's not your fault honey. He protected you because he loves you." Narcissa exclaimed, removing herself from Lucius' embrace and walking towards Hermione.

When she reached Hermione, Narcissa gave the brunette witch a large hug. Hermione returned the hug, grateful that Narcissa didn't hold her responsible for her son's injuries. Hermione felt a strong hand on her back and was surprised to see Lucius standing so close when she turned round.

"Cissa's right. It's not your fault. You didn't throw any dangerous curses." Lucius said kindly.

Hermione stared at the man in shock, as far as she knew Draco's father despised her and resented her presence in his son's life. For his part Lucius had witnessed first-hand Hermione's devotion and love for Draco. Despite what he had initially thought when Hermione joined the dark side, she had delivered what she promised. And even Lucius couldn't deny how much she loved Draco after witnessing how devastated she was when he was injured.

Lucius was just wondering if he would have to reveal his softer side to Draco's girlfriend when the floo network sounded and Voldemort appeared followed by three men he didn't recognise.

"This is the most talented team of healer's in America." Voldemort said, pointing at the three men. "They're here to save Draco."

"We'll try Mr… My Lord." The first healer stuttered under the glare of Voldemort.

"Do more than try." Voldemort threatened.

All three healers looked nervous and scared at The Dark Lord's threatening nature. The second, and most composed looking healer, asked what had happened. Severus explained about the curses, including an explanation about the exact nature of his very own invention, Sectumsempra.

"This will be easier if we examine the patient alone." The third healer told the assembled family. "We'll be able to tell more then."

"We'll be in the library, send Nagini when you're finished." Voldemort said, pointing to the snake who was sitting at the bottom of Draco's bed.

"We can't talk to snakes." The first healer exclaimed, looking wary of the large snake.

"She'll understand you, just tell her you're finished and she'll do the rest." Voldemort said, his tone leaving little room for argument.

Satisfied the healer's would inform them when there was any news the family left Draco's bedroom and headed for his library.

* * *

An hour later and they were still waiting for news of Draco's condition. Lucius and Narcissa were sitting huddled together on the sofa, talking in quiet voices. The Dark Lord, Bella and Severus were seated at the table also talking quietly amongst themselves.

After half an hour Bella had went to check all the prisoners had been safely returned to the dungeons, Hermione suspected it was more so she could do something and feel useful, rather than sit around waiting for news. When she returned she informed Voldemort that all the prisoners were safely in their cells and the rest of the Death Eaters were down stairs anxiously awaiting news of Draco.

Hermione was sitting curled up by the window, Crookshanks in her lap. Hermione was watching the white peacocks roaming the gardens while she stroked Crookshanks. Her mind was on overdrive thinking about Draco, they had survived far too much to be pulled apart now. Hermione was so concerned with her thoughts she failed to notice one of the healer's enter the room, until Severus touched her arm gently. Standing quickly she joined the rest of the family who were anxiously waiting for news.

"Why don't we all sit down." The healer said, gesturing to the table.

Everyone obeyed the healer and sat around the table. Hermione noted the healer sent to explain was the one that seemed more calmer than the other two. She wondered why he had come, why hadn't he just sent Nagini. Hermione began to panic, maybe he had come to deliver bad news.

"Why didn't you send Nagini?" Voldemort asked, voicing the question on everyone's minds.

"We thought it would be better to explain Draco's condition to everyone here." The healer said.

"Is he alive?" Narcissa asked, she was on the verge of a breakdown and the healer's cryptic behaviour wasn't helping.

"Yes. Your son is alive." The healer said, causing the entire room to breathe a sigh of relief. "But I must warn you he isn't out of danger, yet."

"You mean he could still die?" Lucius asked, his happiness fading quickly.

"Unfortunately yes. But, let me explain." The healer said, surprised by the love he had witnessed from the notoriously dark family. "Draco's injuries were extremely severe so we've had to put him into a magical coma. This way his body can heal itself without having to worry about keeping him breathing. At the minute it can only do one of the two, it's too much effort for his body to heal and keep him alive."

"Where's the risk?" Severus asked.

"It is possible to die while in the coma, if the injuries are too severe to fix themselves. The Cruciatius curse Draco suffered, cracked three ribs and punctured his lung, among other things. That was the hardest injury to treat and that's the reason we decided the coma was the best option." The healer told the family. "He's had lots of medication so all we can do now is wait and hope his body can repair itself."

"What are his chances?" Severus asked.

"In my opinion, good." The healer said, smiling softly. "He's young and strong so hopefully he can heal himself."

"When will be able to tell if it's working?" Hermione asked.

"Soon. He needs constant medical supervision, so I was hoping you might be able to accommodate me for a while." The healer said. "It would be best if I was constantly on hand."

"Of course, we'll have a house elf sort you a room." Narcissa said, hopeful her son would recover.

"Will it just be you that stays?" Lucius asked, wondering about the other healers.

"Yes, it really only needs one person now. And I can call for my colleagues if needed."

"When can we see him?" Hermione inquired, eager to see her boyfriend.

"Now. If you don't mind I'll go and get some belongings while my colleagues are still here." The healer said, standing up.

"Thank you Healer Scott." Voldemort said, offering a hand for the healer to shake.

Healer Scott looked wary but eventually shook hands with the dark wizard who had promised him and his colleagues a lot of money if they succeeded in saving the life of Draco Malfoy.

* * *

Hermione sat on the large bed beside a pale and unmoving Draco. Healer Scott had retired to his room for the night after checking Draco was stable. He had performed some sort of spell that linked Draco's vitals with an alarm on his wand so if there was any problems in the night he would immediately know and come running.

When they had been allowed back into Draco's room earlier in the night, the whole family assembled in the room for quite a while. After nearly half an hour in the room, Voldemort had left to inform the other Death Eaters of Draco's situation. Severus and Bella had also left to attend to different things. Severus was heading back to the school to do some tidying up while Bella had muttered something about life being too short and seizing the moment before she scuttled out of the room not revealing where she was going.

Hermione had sat in Draco's room with Lucius and Narcissa for several hours after that. Narcissa told Hermione stories about Draco's childhood and the sort of trouble he used to get into, occasionally Lucius would add his own tale to proceedings.

Eventually it had become too late for Draco's parents and they had retired to their own rooms. Narcissa did insist that Hermione showered and changed before she went off to bed. Hermione agreed, wanting to get out of the clothes that still had lots of her boyfriend's blood on them. When she was clean and wearing new clothes she returned to Draco's side and she had been there ever since.

Hermione sighed and looked at the clock on Draco's wall, it was just past two o'clock in the morning. She was deathly tired and was desperate for sleep but she was reluctant to leave Draco. She had considered sleeping next to him but decided it would be best if she gave him some space, she didn't want to accidently hurt him while she slept. Giving in to the need for sleep, Hermione slipped off the bed. Hermione gave Draco a kiss and with a final look at her comatose boyfriend she left the room, hoping she would soon have him back to normal.

* * *

**A/N- I would like to thank everyone for their amazing support of this story. The story has about nine or ten chapters left to go and I am already considering possibilities for a sequel if people are interested.**


	28. Chapter 28

"Stop with the pacing, we'll leave in a minute." Voldemort snapped, glaring at Hermione his red eyes flashing dangerously.

"Okay." Hermione huffed, sitting down on a nearby chair.

She knew The Dark Lord wasn't really angry with her, he was frustrated by Bella going AWOL. The day after she had left Draco's bedroom muttering to herself, she had returned to the Manor to check on her nephew. After spending some time with Draco she informed Voldemort she had some things to take care of and would be back in a few days. That was six days ago and so far no had heard anything from the witch.

"Come on, we better be going." Voldemort said standing looking at the brunette.

"I've been ready for ages." Hermione grumbled as she stood up. "I hope we still have time."

"Don't worry they won't do anything without us." Voldemort reassured Hermione, holding his arm for her to grab onto.

"They better not." Hermione muttered, grabbing the proffered arm.

Healer Scott was so pleased with Draco's progress that he had decided to bring him out of his magical coma that afternoon. Hermione was nervous about missing it as she had spent almost every minute with Draco since the battle at Hogwarts. Today's surprise outing with Voldemort had not been planned by Hermione, but when he had insisted she accompany him she knew better than to argue.

Hermione stood waiting for Voldemort to apparate them wherever he was planning on taking her. Hermione was incredibly nervous about the outing. Since the battle she had been so concerned by Draco's health that she hadn't had any time to digest what had happened the night Voldemort defeated her former friend. Before Hermione had more chance to worry she felt the familiar swirl of apparition as Voldemort spirited her away.

"Ugh, I hate that." Hermione muttered when they landed. She hadn't decided if it was just side along apparition she didn't like or the inability to control her own actions.

"Stop complaining and come here." Voldemort chuckled.

Hermione went to where Voldemort was standing. He got his wand out and cast a disillusionment charm over the surprised witch. Hermione was even more surprised when he cast the same spell over himself.

"Come along." He said, grabbing Hermione's hand and walking away.

As Voldemort walked along, Hermione looked at her surroundings. She was gobsmacked to find herself in a muggle neighbourhood. Voldemort led her into a park and sat down on a wooden bench, making Hermione sit next to him.

"Why are we here?" Hermione asked, still puzzled by her surroundings.

"Watch that house over there." Voldemort pointed out a small house with a blue door just opposite the small park.

Hermione watched the house for nearly five minutes before the door started to open. When a man exited the house, Hermione watched still unsure of why. But then she saw him clearly and was suddenly confused. It couldn't be, it wasn't possible. Open mouthed Hermione watched as the man walked down the road and turned the corner.

"That's not possible." She whispered, stunned by the man's identity. "That was Oliver Wood."

"Yes, it was." Voldemort said, he had clearly heard Hermione even though she was speaking quietly and more to herself than him.

"Why? How? I don't understand." Hermione shook her head. Her usually flawless logic wasn't providing any answers to her questions.

"I'll explain when we return to the Manor. I just wanted you to see him first hand." Voldemort said. "Are you ready?"

Hermione nodded and the pair apparated back to Malfoy Manor.

* * *

"Why?" Hermione asked, still confused by the morning's events.

Hermione and Voldemort were sitting in the library and Voldemort had just finished explaining to Hermione about the magic stripping potion and his plans regarding the prisoners in the dungeons.

"Why what? Why not just kill them all instead?" Voldemort questioned, looking directly at Hermione.

"Yes." Hermione replied, not intimidated by the dark wizard in front of her.

"It's complicated. Some of the Order have too much magical ability and skill's for it to be wasted. But mainly it was for you and Draco."

"I don't understand?" Hermione was still bemused by The Dark Lord's actions.

"I figured the brutal killing of your former allies might be too much for you to handle. I worried you would turn against me and in turn Draco would as well." Voldemort said. "I'm pretty sure together you and Draco could cause my downfall. That was something I wasn't about to risk."

Hermione looked at Voldemort and nodded. While he had provided a logical reason for his decision, she felt there was also the emotional connection he had to Draco to thank for his decision.

"Whatever the reason, thank you." Hermione smiled, wondering if the likes of Charlie and Luna would now survive.

"That's not everything." Voldemort said, pulling a piece of parchment from the desk drawer and handing it to Hermione. "Read this."

Hermione read the document three times before the reality of what she was seeing sunk in.

"You're offering them a deal?" Hermione asked, lifting her eyes from the paper.

"Yes, they sign the document agreeing to abide by the laws I plan on installing and they go free with their magic still intact. If they refuse I administer the potion and they are re-housed into the muggle world."

"Do you think anyone will agree?" Hermione asked.

"Maybe." Voldemort shrugged. "They might if they value their magic. And if you talk to them."

Hermione laughed bitterly at The Dark Lord's suggestion. "I don't think that will help matters. They'll all hate me for what happened."

"I wouldn't be too sure. Quite a few of them were moved by your obvious show of love for Draco. Perhaps they will understand your motives." Voldemort said. He was fairly sure two of the people who were with Potter that night still cared about Hermione and would potentially think about signing the contract.

"What about those that the potion won't work on?" Hermione asked. Voldemort had explained to her about the age limit on the potion.

"Miguel is working on that as we speak. Until then anyone refusing to sign will be detained as a prisoner." Voldemort explained standing up. "I'm going to the dungeons to make the announcement. Tomorrow we start giving them the chance to retain their place in the magical world."

Voldemort swept from the room, leaving Hermione sitting in the library trying to digest what had just happened. Once again The Dark Lord had proved there was more to him than a cold blooded killer seeking power.

Hermione had just got up to leave when the library doors swung open and Bella rushed into the room.

"Bella, where have you been? We've been worried." Hermione gasped, surprised to see Draco's aunt.

"I've been busy, where's the Dark Lord? Cissy said he was in here with you." Bella said, her eyes scanning the room in case she had missed Voldemort.

"He's just gone down to the dungeons." Hermione said. She was wondering what had gotten the witch so hyped up, Bella was practically bouncing with glee. "Are you alright?" She asked Draco's aunt.

"Perfect." Bella smiled, a large beaming smile that was completely genuine and filled with happiness. "How's Draco?" She suddenly turned serious as her attention turned to her ill nephew.

"The Healer's bringing him out of his coma this afternoon." Hermione said, suddenly eager to check on her boyfriend.

"Lovely, they'll be two reasons to celebrate tonight." Bella said, turning to exit the room. "I'm going to find The Dark Lord, we'll see you later."

The excited witch then left the room leaving Hermione even more confused and bewildered. As Hermione headed to Draco's room she wondered what on earth had gotten Bella so excited. She had never seen the solemn woman so giddy and happy before, whatever it was, Hermione approved. Anything that could cause Bella to be that happy could only be a good thing.

* * *

"It might take a couple of hours, but Draco should be awake some time tonight." Healer Scott said, stepping away from Draco's bedside.

Once again the entire family was gathered in Draco's room, this time waiting for him to open his eyes.

"I'll leave you alone. I'll be back when he wakes, to check him over." Healer Scott said, backing out of the room and giving the family some privacy.

Once Healer Scott had left the room, both Hermione and Narcissa moved closer to Draco. Narcissa pulled a chair right up to his bedside and Lucius moved to stand behind his wife, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. Over the opposite side of the bed, Hermione carefully perched on the bed next to Draco.

While the other three people in the room didn't move closer to the bed they still kept a close eye on the occupant. Severus sat in a chair by the fire, watching his godson and hoping for a happy conclusion to his desperate battle for survival.

Also sitting by the fire on a small sofa were Voldemort and Bella. Bella was still giddy and beaming widely when she arrived in Draco's room with The Dark Lord. She refused to tell anyone why she was so happy, instead she insisted that they wait for Draco to wake so the whole family could be told together.

Despite focusing most of her attention on Draco, Hermione couldn't help but notice that Bella and The Dark Lord seemed extra affectionate towards each other. Even now Voldemort had his arm wrapped discreetly around Bella's waist.

As they waited for Draco to wake up the six people in the room talked quietly amongst themselves. In the last few days Hermione had been surprised to find that she had bonded somewhat with Lucius. Draco's father had finally accepted that she loved his son and would be a constant part of their lives from now on.

* * *

Slowly Draco became aware of voices talking. His body felt stiff and he was in quite a bit of pain. Not wanting to move, he instead listened to the voices and tried to identify them. Within minutes he recognised the voices of his aunt Bella, Severus and his father. A few minutes later he had identified both his mother and Voldemort's voices. Draco continued to listen, straining to hear the one voice that was the most important to him. Suddenly he heard it, a small delicate laugh that belonged to his girlfriend. He could hear his father reciting some sort of story about his childhood and Hermione laughing at it.

Wondering if his father was embarrassing him, Draco opened his eyes ready to stop the story telling. Draco had barely opened his eyes when he heard his mother's surprised gasp.

"Draco. You're awake." Narcissa said, reaching for her son.

Draco became more alert as he saw that everyone he loved had gathered around his bed. Carefully he moved his head slightly so he could get a better look at Hermione and check she wasn't hurt. Before he had a chance to enjoy seeing Hermione a strange man burst into the room and ordered everyone out. Draco was shocked when everyone obeyed but he soon worked out the man was a Healer.

Healer Scott told Draco the extent of his injuries as he was checking his vitals and making sure he was recovering right.

"I'll explain everything to your family before I let them re-enter." Healer Scott said, after informing Draco of how his recovery was coming along. "Do you have any questions?"

"No, I don't think so." Draco said, wincing slightly as his shoulder ached as he moved it. "Thank you for everything you've done for me."

"It's my pleasure. But I'm not done yet, as I said it will take time for you to fully heal and return to normal." Healer Scott said.

Personally he was incredibly shocked that Draco had recovered so much in six days. He expected the type of damage the Malfoy heir had sustained would have taken at least three weeks to recover from while he was in the coma. Obviously the young man was extremely fit, or he had something very special to live for.

Healer Scott left the room to talk to his family, and within minutes the door re-opened and everyone trooped back in.

"Draco, darling. It's so good to have you back." Narcissa gushed, tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

"Don't cry, I'm fine." Draco said, hoping to avoid the waterworks from his emotional mother.

Lucius quickly stepped in, comforting Narcissa before the tears could fall. He then proceeded to welcome his son back. Severus, Bella and Voldemort all expressed their relief at Draco being conscious again.

Draco then turned his attention to Hermione, she had been standing quietly next to Narcissa while he spoke with his family.

"Come here." He told her, patting the bed next to him.

Hermione cautiously sat beside him, looking as though she was close to tears as well. Being careful because of his injuries, Draco pulled Hermione to him for a hug.

"I've missed you." Hermione mumbled into Draco's shoulder. She was being extra careful not to hold him too tight as the Healer said he would still be in a lot of pain.

"I've got an announcement." Bella sang, interrupting the reunited couple on the bed. "You two can catch up later." She said when Draco glared at his aunt.

"So we're finally going to find out what's got you hopping about like a mad woman." Lucius drawled. His sister-in-law's mysterious actions had aroused his curiosity but he wasn't going to admit that to Bella.

"Yes. I've got a divorce." Bella announced with a smile.

"How? Daddy made the marriage contract unbreakable." Narcissa exclaimed.

Bellatrix and Narcissa's father had drawn up contracts for all of the sisters intended husbands while they were still young girls. The contracts ensured that each Black sister married a pure blood wizard who could never be unfaithful or abandon his wife. He had also included many more stipulations about how the husbands were expected to treat their wife, he loved his daughters and wanted them to be treated right. But the most important clause was that the marriage couldn't be dissolved, the only way the marriage ended was with the death of either spouse.

Narcissa knew all this information as her father had made both her and Lucius sign her contact. Narcissa also knew for a fact that Bella and Rodolphus had also signed Bella's contract. The only one of the three contract's not signed was the one belonging to their sister, Andromeda. Their father had disowned her when she announced she was marrying a muggle.

"Not quite. It took a lot of work and a lot of money but finally I found a wizard in New Zealand that specialises in breaking magical contracts. Yesterday he finally broke the magic and with it the marriage contract." Bella beamed. "This morning Rodolphus and I were officially divorced."

The whole room were stunned. No one was quite sure what to say but congratulations seemed the best thing as Bella was clearly thrilled by her news.

"Congratulations." Narcissa finally offered.

Narcissa was unsure if you should be celebrating the end of a marriage. She had been brought up to believe that marriage was a lifelong commitment and not something you could walk away from. Narcissa did suppose it was a different situation for her and Bella. She had married a man she loved and she would never dream of leaving Lucius, but Bella was stuck married to someone she didn't really like let alone love.

"That's great Bella." Hermione smiled at the older witch.

After the conversation she had had with Bella before the battle at Hogwarts, Hermione felt she understood just how important it was to Bella to be free from her husband and free to be with the man she truly loved. Hermione herself found herself in a similar situation, only instead of being free of a husband she was free of Harry and The Order.

* * *

**A/N- A couple of reviewers have asked about a prequel, detailing Draco and Hermione's relationship while at school. It is something I will definitely be doing but it may be a while before I get round to it. First I plan on writing the sequel to this story but I also have pages of ideas for other stories I'm eager to write. So it make take a while, but it is coming.**

**P.S- I've just finished writing the epilogue for this story and will be going on to start writing the sequel in the next few days.**


	29. Chapter 29

Hermione looked at the Death Eaters sitting around the front room in Malfoy Manor, drinking and enjoying themselves. They were celebrating the fact that Draco was awake but Hermione knew that Bella and The Dark Lord were also celebrating Bella's remarkable divorce. Bella had told Hermione and Narcissa that she would be officially moving into Voldemort's large house the following day. Despite her general disapproval of divorce, Narcissa couldn't help but be pleased for her older sister who was finally happy.

Sensing she wouldn't be missed and eager to get back to Draco, Hermione slipped out of the room and headed towards Draco's wing of the Manor. Hermione had been reluctant to leave Draco only hours after he had woken up but her boyfriend had insisted she should go and join the festivities.

Opening the door quietly in case Draco was asleep, Hermione slipped into the room. She had wondered if she should continue to sleep in the spare room next door but Draco had made a point of asking Healer Scott about the sleeping arrangements. Healer Scott had been quite clear on the subject, as long as they only slept and didn't indulge in any physical activity, it would be perfectly fine.

Draco hadn't been asleep, he had been waiting for Hermione to return. They had spent no time alone together this afternoon and Draco was anxious to see how his girlfriend was coping with recent events.

"Hey, I thought you'd be asleep." Hermione said, walking over to the bed.

"I was waiting for you. I thought we could talk."

"Sure, I'll just get ready for bed first." Hermione said.

Hermione went to her belongings that were standing in the corner. They had been there since the day Hermione retrieved them, the same day the raids had taken place. Since returning to the Manor, Hermione had been too concerned with Draco's welfare to think about unpacking and making herself comfortable. Hermione wasn't even sure if she was unpacking her things in Draco's room, they had never discussed living arrangements for after the war as Draco hadn't wanted to tempt fate by planning ahead.

Finding some suitable pyjamas, Hermione headed into the bathroom for a quick shower and to get ready for bed. Hermione had found a pair of deep purple pyjama bottoms with a matching purple tank top, she was very careful not to wear something too revealing as Draco was still quite ill. For the last week she had been wearing one of Draco's shirts to bed but she had a feeling it might be too much for her boyfriend if she was to wear that tonight.

After she had finished in the bathroom, Hermione went back into Draco's room. She quickly brushed her hair before joining Draco in bed.

"Hi." She smiled, gently brushing her lips against her boyfriend's.

"Hi, yourself." Draco said, brushing a stray curl away from Hermione's face. "Are you alright?" He asked, concern shimmering in his stormy grey eyes.

"I am now." Hermione replied. "Now that you're awake."

"That's good, but it wasn't what I meant."

"I know." Hermione sighed. While she had been expecting Draco to want to discuss how she was coping in the aftermath of the war, she had expected Draco to wait a while before bringing the subject up.

"Well then, are you going to tell me or do I have to force you." Draco sighed. It was obviously worse than he thought if Hermione was avoiding talking about it at all.

"You're in no condition to force me to do anything." Hermione smirked.

"Really? Do you wish to try me?" Draco challenged.

"No." Hermione shook her head, she wasn't convinced Draco wouldn't try something stupid.

They sat quietly for several minutes, Draco didn't want to push Hermione too hard while Hermione was working out how best to express how she was feeling.

"How about you tell me what happened at Hogwarts." Draco prompted, hoping to give Hermione a push. "The last thing I can clearly remember were those Weasels pointing their wands at you."

"You saved me. Ginny used the Cruciatius curse and Ron used Sectumsempra. They both hit you at the same time."

"I can remember that." Draco grimaced, the excruciating agony still fresh in his mind.

"Sorry." Hermione apologised, even though she was unsure as to what the apology was for. She wasn't sure if she was saying sorry for making Draco remember the pain or if she was saying sorry for being the reason he took the two curses.

"Don't apologise. It's not your fault." Draco said softly. "I would willingly take both curses again if it meant protecting you."

Hermione buried her head into Draco's shoulder so he couldn't see the tears that had fallen at his beautiful sentiment.

"You do know that doesn't work." Draco said, pulling Hermione's head up so he could look at her face. "I can still feel the tears."

Hermione rolled her eyes at her own stupidity, of course he could feel the tears he was only wearing a thin t-shirt that was now wet.

"So what happened next?" Draco asked.

While he was hoping to get Hermione to talk more openly about her feelings he was also dying to know what had happened after he had gone down injured. The only thing he had been aware of during the torment he was suffering was Hermione. He knew she was right beside him, trying to comfort him. He had a vague memory of telling her he loved her, at the time he was finding it increasingly difficult to breathe and he was convinced he didn't have long to live.

"I'm slightly hazy on all the details. I was too concerned with you." Hermione said, making herself comfortable snuggling into Draco's side. "Both Lucius and Bella threw a killing curse and both Ron and Ginny went down. I don't know who killed who though."

"It doesn't matter. What about Potter?"

"After a brief fight The Dark Lord killed him." Hermione said her voice emotionless. "It was over really quickly and I was more concerned with you than the fight."

"I'm surprised it was quick. The Dark Lord's been waiting years for a chance to get Potter. I always thought he would prolong the fight and toy with Potter." Draco mused.

"I'm sure he would have, but he was more concerned about you." Hermione explained. While Voldemort had never actually said the reason for his short fight with Harry was Draco, Hermione had suspected that was the case.

"Really?" Draco asked. He was shocked that Voldemort had cut short something he had been looking forward to for a long time.

"Yes. As soon as the fight was over he was checking on you and arranging for you to be brought home." Hermione said. "He was the one that brought the healer's that saved your life."

Draco lay for a bit pondering what Voldemort had done for him. Draco realised he owed him a great deal, not only had he saved his life he had enabled him and Hermione to be together properly. Draco and Hermione lay quietly for several minutes before Draco realised that he had never managed to get Hermione to talk about how she was coping in the aftermath of Potter's defeat.

"You know despite that whole conversation, I still never found out if you're okay with things." Draco said, running his fingers through Hermione's thick hair.

"You realised then. I was hoping you would forget." Hermione muttered.

"No I haven't forgotten." Draco sighed. He wondered if he had done the right thing in letting Hermione get involved with the dark side. Maybe it would have been better for her if he had been strong enough to end their relationship years ago.

"You're not going to let this drop are you?" Hermione asked. She suddenly sat up and turned so she was facing Draco.

"No."

"The truth is I'm absolutely fine. I'd prepared myself for feeling horribly guilty about Harry's death but I don't. I feel nothing." Hermione admitted, hanging her head in shame. "I'm a monster."

"You're not a monster." Draco soothed. "If you were you wouldn't care that you felt nothing."

"But I should be sad or guilty or something." Hermione insisted. "Harry, Ron and Ginny are all dead but I don't miss them."

"Why not?" Draco asked. Clearly Hermione didn't feel nothing about her friends deaths, she felt something and Draco was determined to find out what.

"I don't know. I should miss them, we were friends for years. But things have been changing lately." Hermione said, thinking properly about her former friends for the first time since the battle. "Maybe I am slightly sad they died, but I can never forgive what Ron and Ginny did to you. It makes it hard to feel guilty about their deaths."

"What about Potter?"

"I'm sad for the person he used to be, the Harry I went to school with. The war changed him into someone who had no concern for others. Even at the end he still couldn't accept the fact that my defection was partly his fault." Hermione sighed. "Things could have been so different."

"See you do feel something. It may not be guilt or devastating grief but their deaths have affected you." Draco pointed out, hoping to get Hermione to stop beating herself up for not being destroyed by Potter's death.

"I suppose." Hermione shrugged.

"What about everything else? How is it living in a world where The Dark Lord was victorious?"

"I don't know yet. Today was the first time I've left the Manor." Hermione admitted, settling back down next to Draco.

"Where did you go?" Draco asked, wondering what had prompted her visit to the outside world. He also wondered why she hadn't left the Manor sooner.

"The Dark Lord took me to the muggle world, where he showed me Oliver Wood living happily as a muggle." Hermione said.

"So he's been relocated." Draco said, last time he had seen Wood he was still being held prisoner. "What do you think of The Dark Lord's plans?"

"Interesting. To be honest I've been worrying about the Order members he had captured. Now I know they at least have an opportunity to survive and have a life." Hermione smiled.

"Do you think any of them will take him up on his offer to keep their magic?" Draco asked. He had been sceptical that anyone would agree to abide by whatever laws The Dark Lord put into place, but Hermione knew these people best and she might have a different opinion.

"I hope so." Hermione sighed, wondering if she would ever have any sort of relationship with her friends again. "Especially Charlie."

"He's a Weasley, isn't he? Why would he accept when half his family's dead?" Draco asked, puzzled.

"Yes he's a Weasley. But he was great to me that week before we reached Hogwarts, a real friend. And after the battle he didn't look like he wanted to hurt me." Hermione said. "I guess we'll find out over the next few days."

"I guess that means The Dark Lord is going to be making the offers soon." Draco said.

"Yes, he went to the dungeons this afternoon. Starting tomorrow he expects answers." Hermione said.

Draco could feel how tense Hermione had gotten once she mentioned that the decisions were starting the next day.

"You're nervous." He stated.

"Yes. Some people like Charlie might be understanding but others won't. Molly for one, she was shooting me such evil looks after the battle." Hermione was not looking forward to facing some of the people who would consider her a betrayer and an enemy.

"People like that don't matter. You did what you had to do." Draco said, pulling Hermione closer to him. "You'll be fine tomorrow, you're the strongest person I know."

Hermione leaned up and kissed Draco softly. With a few words he had made her feel so much better about the following day. Draco smirked into the kiss, pleased he had calmed his girlfriend slightly. He was aware that she would still find it hard to cope with what had happened at times, but he was hopeful that once the prisoners in the dungeons had been relocated they could start moving on with their lives.

"I think it's time we went to sleep. It sounds like you'll have a hectic day tomorrow." Draco said as they broke their kiss.

"Okay." Hermione said, stifling a yawn.

Hermione reached for her wand that was sitting on the bedside table and turned the light off. Once the room was in darkness, Hermione snuggled into Draco and together the two of them fell asleep.


	30. Chapter 30

Hermione paced in front of the library door before summoning the courage to knock and enter the spacious room. When she entered the room she saw Voldemort and Bella were talking and looking over some paperwork.

"Hermione, you're here. We can get started." Voldemort said, lifting his head up from where he was working. "Bella, let's begin."

Bella swept out of the room, giving Hermione a reassuring smile as she went. After Bella had left, Voldemort took out his wand and rearranged the furniture.

Everything apart from three chairs and the desk moved to the side of the library, resting against the bookshelves. Voldemort arranged the chairs so that two were behind the desk and one was facing the desk. Voldemort himself took up residence in one of the chairs behind the desk.

"Come and sit." Voldemort gestured to the second chair behind the desk.

Hermione made her way to the chair and sat down to wait. As she sat she wondered who Bella would bring first. She hoped it was someone who wasn't too resentful towards her. Just as Hermione was debating who she would prefer to see first the doors swung open and Neville entered the room followed by Bella who had her wand pointing at his back.

"Sit." Bella ordered Neville.

Neville did what he was told to do and Bella went and stood beside the door, making sure her wand was out and pointed towards the Order member sitting in the library.

When the doors had opened, Hermione had dropped her head and watched who entered out of the corner of her eye. Once Neville was seated Hermione summoned the courage to lift her head and look at her friend. Hermione was relieved to see that while Neville looked sad and upset he wasn't looking at her with any malice.

"I'm sure you know why you're here. Yesterday I made everyone a very generous offer. Now is the time to either accept or decline." Voldemort said, noticing the young man's attention was entirely focused on Hermione.

Neville and Hermione stared at each other for several seconds before Neville finally spoke in a quiet but forceful tone.

"No. I understand why you did what you did, Hermione. But I won't be a part of it, sorry." Neville spoke directly to Hermione, ignoring the other two people in the room. "I hope everything works out the way you want."

"Thank you, Neville. I'm sorry you had to be caught up in this." Hermione said softly.

"If that's your final decision, you will receive the potion once all the arrangements have been made." Voldemort said writing Neville's name on a list as he gestured for Bella to return him to his cell.

Hermione and Neville shared a small smile before he departed the room and Hermione's life. Hermione felt slightly relieved after seeing Neville and she hoped the following meetings would all be as painless. Unfortunately the next few all reminded Hermione of how hard this task was going to be.

After Neville came Katie Bell. The former Gryffindor immediately refused the offer and bombarded Hermione with a mouth load of abuse. Hermione wasn't sure if the abuse was for betraying the Order or being with Draco. In the last few years, Harry had constantly encouraged Katie's resentment towards the blond, which stemmed from the incident in sixth year when she had been cursed accidentally.

While still recovering from Katie's torrent of abuse, Fleur arrived in the room. While the Frenchwoman was more dignified than Katie she still looked at Hermione with loathing as she refused the offer. After Fleur had left Hermione had asked Voldemort if he could ensure that Fleur and Bill could still be together. She was confident that Fleur had talked with her husband and they had made a joint decision.

After Fleur came Hagrid. As he was too old for the current potion, the choice was slightly different. Sign the contract or be imprisoned until a new potion was ready. Hermione doubted that Hagrid would ever be able to live as a muggle, so she was praying he would sign the contract. Hermione knew that technically Hagrid wasn't allowed to do magic, but Voldemort had agreed he could carry on living as he had for years, using bits and pieces of magic here and there.

Hagrid refused the offer straight away and Hermione couldn't even get the half giant to look at her. Even when Hermione begged him to look at her the man had refused, though Hermione thought she saw tears running down his face.

By the time Hagrid was escorted out of the room, Hermione was gently crying and needed a minute to compose herself before the next meeting.

The next meeting was nearly as hard for Hermione. It was her favourite teacher and old head of house, Minerva McGonagall. As expected McGonagall refused the offer. As she was leaving the former head of Gryffindor turned and looked Hermione directly in the eye, telling her she was disappointed in her.

After McGonagall's exit, Hermione contemplated asking to be excused from any more meetings but she didn't want to disappoint The Dark Lord. Luckily the next person to enter the room was Luna.

Luna gave Hermione a small smile as she sat down nervously. Hermione fully expected a response like Neville's but she got a major surprise when Luna said she would accept the offer of retaining her magic and sign the contract.

"That's excellent news. Miss Lovegood, sign this contract. You are aware it is magically binding and once you sign you must abide by the rules laid out in it." Voldemort said.

"Yes, I know." Luna said, taking the quill that was being offered to her.

After Luna signed the contract, Voldemort headed over to a cabinet where he returned with a small box.

"Your wand." Voldemort handed the blonde the box. "You are now free to leave."

Luna removed her wand from the box and smiled, pleased to have it back in her possession. Luna turned to Hermione and gave the brunette a hug. Hermione was surprised but returned the hug, grateful that someone had taken advantage of Voldemort's offer.

When Luna mentioned her father would also be signing the contract, Voldemort sent Bella to fetch him. Once Xeno had signed and retrieved his wand, the Lovegood's set off home with a promise from Luna to keep in touch with Hermione.

The next person in the room was Bella's sister, Andromeda. Unsurprisingly she refused to sign the contract, instead she chose to argue with her sister. Andromeda did shoot Hermione a couple of dirty looks, but saved her words of anger for her older sister. Hermione could still hear Andromeda shouting as Bella escorted her rather forcefully from the room.

When Bella returned she brought with her one of the people Hermione was dreading seeing, Molly Weasley. Hermione could still remember the hatred in the woman's eyes after the battle at Hogwarts. As soon as Molly entered the room, Hermione could tell the woman hated her and wasn't going to agree to the deal.

As usual Voldemort asked what her decision was going to be. Like Neville when she spoke she spoke to Hermione, but unlike Neville the words weren't understanding.

"My answer's no of course." Molly hissed. "There is no way I'm agreeing to have anything to do with people like you. I'm not associating with trashy little Death Eater whores who got my family killed."

"Enough." Voldemort shouted, seeing Hermione was becoming upset. "Bella, take this woman away."

"Why? The truth hurts does it Hermione. You're nothing but a common slapper who's betrayed all those around her." Molly shouted as Bella dragged her up from the chair. "It won't last you know. He'll find someone else, someone who's not a cold hearted bitch like you."

"Crucio." Voldemort yelled, getting annoyed by the woman's shouting.

As the curse hit Molly, causing her to crash to the floor in agony, Hermione fled the room. Heading to the safety of Draco's wing, she wasn't sure if she was running from what Molly had said or having to see her being tortured. Either way she tried to put as much distance between herself and Molly.

* * *

Draco was lying in bed bored and restless. He had only awoken from the coma late yesterday afternoon, but he already wanted to be up and about. Healer Scott had being to check on him this morning and had told him he must spend a few more days in bed. After that the healer said he would consider allowing him up for short periods of time, gradually getting longer until he was back to normal. Healer Scott had been quite clear on the fact that it would take Draco weeks, possibly months to get back to full fitness.

Picking up the book that was on the bedside table Draco began to read only to be interrupted seconds later by the banging of his bedroom door. Draco looked up and was surprised to find Hermione entering the room, tears streaming down her face. Draco hadn't expected to see Hermione until that night as he knew she was assisting Voldemort with the potion meetings.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked as Hermione rushed to him and buried her head in his shoulder. He was quite surprised by Hermione's state as normally his girlfriend was incredibly strong and composed.

Shakily Hermione explained about her morning and the final meeting with Molly Weasley.

"Bitch." Draco muttered, stroking Hermione's hair to try and sooth her. If it wasn't for the fact he was on bed rest and he actually felt too weak to get up he would have gone to the library and shown the hideous woman exactly what he thought of her.

Draco continued to sooth Hermione and reassure her she had did the right thing and that he would never leave her. Slowly the tears subsided and Hermione finally lifted her head to look at Draco.

"Are you okay?" He asked, brushing her hair out of her face.

"Yes, I think everything just caught up with me today." Hermione admitted. "I'm going to get washed, I must look a right mess."

"You look lovely, as always." Draco said, pecking her on the lips.

"Liar." Hermione smiled, giving him another kiss before she headed into the bathroom.

While Hermione was still in the bathroom, Voldemort knocked on the door and entered the room to check on Hermione.

"How is she?" He asked, gesturing to the bathroom where the taps were running.

"Okay, now. It took me ages to calm her." Draco said.

"I expect she's only just realising the effect of changing sides." Voldemort said, pulling up a chair and placing it at Draco's bedside.

"What did you do with that awful woman?" Draco asked. Hermione had mentioned that Voldemort had hit her with the Cruciatius curse.

"Don't worry, I didn't let her get away with speaking to Hermione like that, she was punished. Bella's moving her now."

"Why are you moving her?" Draco asked.

"If we send her back to the dungeons she might make a fuss and cause trouble. This way people might assume she signed the contract and sign as well." Voldemort smirked.

Draco chuckled at The Dark Lord's underhand tactics, they were pure Slytherin. Hermione chose that moment to re-enter the room. While she looked curious as to what Draco was laughing about she didn't ask, instead she turned to address The Dark Lord.

"I'm fine now. Should we continue?"

* * *

For the afternoon's session Hermione had hardened herself, she prepared herself for a torrent of abuse whenever anyone entered the room so if any came she was able to deal with it.

The first batch of people were a lot of the older members of the Order, the majority of them had taught at Hogwarts. As expected they all turned down the offer and most looked at Hermione with contempt in their eyes.

As expected Bill Weasley also turned down the offer when it was his turn. He quietly thanked Hermione when Voldemort told him he would be relocated along with Fleur so they could stay together.

Hermione was surprised to see Lee Jordan when he arrived in the room, the last she had seen of him was during the battle when he was thrown across the room. Clearly he had just been injured not killed. Lee refused the offer and if the dirty looks he kept shooting Hermione's way were an indication he hadn't forgiven her for her defection.

It was a similar story when Dean Thomas came in after him. He couldn't forgive Hermione for turning to the dark side, so he refused to sign the contract.

After Dean and Lee, Hermione expected everyone to refuse to sign but the next wave of people all signed the contract. Amongst them were Seamus Finnegan, Hannah Abbott, Michael Corner, Cho Chang, Terry Boot and Alicia Spinnet.

Towards the end of the group came Tonks. Hermione could see by her attitude and behaviour she was unsure of what to do for the best.

"I have a question about the potion. Does it harm unborn children?" Tonks asked as soon as she sat down.

Hermione stared at her friend in shock, she had no idea that Tonks' was pregnant. She had heard Tonks and Remus talk many times about their desire to start a family, but they were adamant they weren't going to bring a baby into the middle of a war. Either they changed their minds or the baby was unplanned.

"I have no idea." Voldemort said.

"Then I don't think I can risk it." Tonks sighed. She knew she had to make a hard decision in the next few minutes.

Hermione considered trying to convince Tonks to sign the contract, but she was unsure of how the woman felt about her. She might only make things worse and cause the woman to make a rash decision.

"I'll sign your contract, but I want to make one thing crystal clear. I want nothing to do with any of you. I'll leave you alone and you leave me alone." Tonks said after several minutes of deliberating.

Hermione was sad that Tonks wanted nothing to do with her and that she would never see her child but she understood the woman's reasoning.

While Tonks signed the contract, Voldemort retrieved the woman's wand. When he handed Tonks her wand back he also handed her two small black rock's that he had muttered an incantation over.

"What are those?" Tonks asked, wary to take anything off the dark wizard.

"They're ward stones. It'll let you past the wards at your house." Voldemort explained, pressing the rock's into her hands. "The other one is for your parent's house."

"You're giving me back my house?" Tonks asked, surprised.

"Yes, it's yours." Voldemort said, returning to his chair. "And now so is your parent's house."

Tonks looked at Voldemort for some time before shrugging and leaving the room.

After Tonks came the Weasley twins. Voldemort suggested they were together as it would be easier than dealing with them separately. Hermione was surprised when both twins announced they would sign the contract, she had expected they would be reluctant to do so after events at Hogwarts. During their time in the room neither twin was nasty to Hermione, but neither were they friendly. When they left Hermione had no idea whether they would ever want to see her again.

By the time the last person was shown into the room, all Hermione wanted to do was have something to eat and curl up in bed next to Draco and sleep. Hermione soon perked up however when the last person entered the room, Charlie Weasley.

Before Voldemort even spoke Charlie asked to sign the contract. Voldemort was eager to oblige and soon the red head had his wand back in his possession. Along with his wand Charlie also received two ward stones, one for The Burrow and one for Shell Cottage. Charlie had argued against both but Voldemort had insisted the property's belonged to Weasley's and as the oldest child who had chosen to remain in the wizarding world, he had the right to both buildings. Charlie reluctantly took the stones, even though he doubted he would live in either house.

Before leaving Charlie told Hermione he didn't blame her for anything and would love to remain friends. Hermione was thrilled with Charlie's offer and immediately accepted it, the pair vowing to keep in contact with each other.

After Charlie's exit, Hermione headed back to Draco's room to fill him in on the afternoon's events. She was incredibly relieved that the day's events were over, she only hoped the administering of the potion went more smoothly.


	31. Chapter 31

Hermione was sitting doing her hair when in the mirror she saw Draco enter the room from the bathroom.

"Are you sure you should be up?" She asked, looking at her boyfriend through the mirror.

"Yes. I've spent most of the morning in bed. I need some sort of exercise." Draco replied.

He had been awake from his coma for two weeks and the healer was now allowing him to get out of bed on a regular basis, as long as he didn't overdo things.

"If you're sure." Hermione murmured.

Draco still had to take three pain potion a day and Hermione wasn't convinced he was feeling as well as he claimed to be. Hermione watched as Draco headed for his wardrobe and pulled on a grey shirt, wincing slightly with the residual pain in his shoulder.

"I'm fine. All I'm going to do is sit in the garden reading." Draco said, coming up behind Hermione and kissing the top of her head.

"Make sure that's all you do." Hermione warned as she stood up.

"Yes, boss." Draco smiled, wrapping Hermione in his arms. "Have a good time."

"I'll try." Hermione but her lip nervously.

She was meeting Charlie for lunch and it was the first time she had seen any former Order members in nearly two weeks. She was really worried about how they were coping with their new lives and if they resented her for what she had done.

"It'll be fine. Go." Draco said.

"Okay." Hermione gave Draco a quick kiss before she grabbed her bag and apparated to Diagon Alley.

* * *

Hermione sat sipping her lemonade as she waited for Charlie. She was slightly early for their meeting but was still nervous in case he didn't show up. A few minutes later her doubts were put to one side as Charlie strode into the small café.

"Hello, Hermione." Charlie said, sitting down opposite.

"Hi." Hermione smiled.

As they ordered something to eat and a drink for Charlie they made small talk about general subjects. They waited until their food had arrived before talking properly.

"How is everyone?" Hermione asked. She was nervous about Charlie's answer, even though a small portion of people had taken up Voldemort's offer she was sure some of them still hated her.

"Fine. Luna and her father are busy setting up The Quibbler again. Fred and George are going to give their shop a re-vamp, so they're holed up in their flat making plans."

"What about Tonks? How is she?" Hermione asked.

"Coping." Charlie said. "I think out of everyone she's finding it the hardest. She never would have agreed to sign the contract if it wasn't for the baby."

Hermione looked down as tears stung her eyes. Looking back up she found Charlie watching her with concern.

"Why did you sign the contract? I thought you would hate me." Hermione voiced the questions that had haunted her for weeks now.

"First, I don't hate you. For a while I struggled with what you did. But I know you only did what you did for love." Charlie said, he could still remember the devastating scene of Hermione covered in blood and crying over Draco's lifeless body.

"That doesn't explain why you signed the contract."

"No, it doesn't. I suppose I value my magic." Charlie spoke slowly as he thought about what to say. "I also find it slightly easier because I was disgusted with what happened that night at Hogwarts."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

"A lot of the Order were so focused on the fact you had changed sides that they didn't really pay attention to what happened. Neither me or Luna were hurt when we surrendered, and no one has been hurt since." Charlie said. "And the behaviour of Ginny and Ron was appalling. Don't get me wrong, I miss them and wish they weren't dead. But what they did was just as bad if not worse than anything the Death Eaters have done."

Hermione wasn't sure how to respond, she hadn't expected Charlie to condemn his siblings actions.

"How are you?" Charlie sensed that Hermione was unsure of how to proceed with the conversation, so he changed the subject.

"Good. I'm better now that Draco's recovering." Hermione smiled.

"That's good." Charlie nodded. He didn't personally know the blond but he must love Hermione a lot if he was willing to give up his pure blood beliefs to be with her. "What have you been up to?"

"I've been helping to relocate the Order members into the muggle world." Hermione said.

The last two weeks had been a strange combination of happiness and sadness. It had been devastating to see her friends without their magic and memories. But it had been better once they were settled into the muggle world with a new life. She was coping by telling herself that at least they were alive, they may not have their magic, but they had their lives.

"So it went well." Charlie said, eager for news on the people he loved.

"Yes. Everything ran pretty smoothly. Bill and Fleur are still together and are very happy."

"Thank you." Charlie smiled. He was sure Hermione had something to do with his brother and his wife remaining together.

"You're welcome." Hermione said softly.

"Can I ask you something?" Charlie said slowly, wondering if he should speak or keep his thoughts to himself.

"Of course."

"What sort of laws are going to be put into place regarding muggleborn's? I'm assuming Voldemort will be changing the laws of the wizarding world to match his own vision." Charlie was unsure if it was something Hermione would discuss, but he was curious to hear her opinions.

"I'm not sure." Hermione admitted. "I know he's been working on new laws, but he's waiting for Draco to be fit enough to contribute his opinion before he passes any."

"Voldemort must think a lot of him." Charlie said. He was surprised the feared wizard would rely on anyone else regarding the laws of the world.

"He does." Hermione smiled.

"What does he think of you?" Charlie asked, wondering if he had overstepped the line.

"I think he likes me. At least I hope he does." Hermione mused. "I was planning on using his feelings for Draco and possibly me to talk to him about muggleborn's."

"You're not just going to sit back and let him do what he wants about them?" Charlie had thought she had abandoned her ideas on equality when she joined the dark side.

"No. I plan on fighting for Muggleborn rights." Hermione said, her eyes sparkling with passion as she spoke. "It might take a while and I might only progress in small steps, but I'll do what I can."

"There's the Hermione I know and love." Charlie smiled, pleased that recent events hadn't knocked the fight out of Hermione.

"Thanks." Hermione smiled. "What are you planning on doing now? Are you going back to Romania?"

"No, I'll not be going back to Romania. I want to be near the twins and Tonks." Charlie said, sighing slightly. "I do miss the dragons though. I've always thought that one day I would continue my work with them."

"Would it be possible to set up some sort of dragon sanctuary in this country?" Hermione asked. She wanted Charlie to be able to do the job he loved.

"I suppose. But they usually need lots of land, money and of course dragons." Charlie said, wondering where Hermione was going with this line of questioning.

"I'm sure I could help with that." Hermione smiled. "Would it be something you'd be interested in doing?"

"Of course." Charlie said, the possibility exciting him. "I would love to be involved from the beginning with the designing and managing of the sanctuary."

"I think this is something we should talk about." Hermione said.

"I agree." Charlie grinned.

The rest of lunch was spent discussing dragon sanctuaries and the possibility of opening a new one with Charlie in charge.

* * *

After lunch with Charlie, Hermione had planned to head straight back to the Manor. But when Charlie left her, she was left with a slight melancholy feeling. Spending time with Charlie reminded her of the life she once had, the life that included Harry and Ron.

For the first time since the battle, Hermione had an overpowering urge to visit her friends. Last week while she was talking to Severus he had mentioned the fact that The Dark Lord had returned the bodies of everyone killed, either in the raids or the battle at Hogwarts, to the remaining members of the Order. He had also mentioned that the Order had chosen to bury the small amount of people who had lost their lives together in a small cemetery near to The Burrow.

Before she lost her nerve, Hermione apparated to the small village of Ottery St Catchpole. She planned on starting there and searching for the cemetery. While Hermione had never been to the cemetery she felt that with the information Severus had given her she could find it.

Arriving in the small village, Hermione set off in the direction of The Burrow. After a short while, Hermione could see the magical house in the distance. Hermione knew she didn't need to actually go to The Burrow, instead she branched off to the right heading towards the Lovegood's house.

Just as the Lovegood's house came into sight, Hermione spotted the cemetery. Walking towards the gates she hoped that there was no one else visiting, she didn't think she would be particularly welcome.

Hermione was surprised by how small the cemetery was, she knew not many people had died but it was still a surprise to see first-hand that the cemetery contained no more than twenty graves. Hermione realised that if the light side had won the war, many more people would have died. A lot more of the Order would have perished if the Death Eaters had been fighting to the death. And as for the Death Eaters, those that hadn't been killed in the battle would have be sent to Azkaban for life or sentenced to death.

Hermione wandered through the graves until she found the ones she was looking for. In the back row, under a thick canopy of trees, were the graves of The Weasley's who had died. Harry was buried alongside them as he was considered part of their family.

Arriving at Harry's grave, Hermione sat down on the grass beside it. Memories of happier times, flooded her brain and within minutes she was crying heavily. Hermione was so busy mourning her former friend, she failed to notice she was no longer alone in the cemetery. A hand on her shoulder caused her to look up in shock.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, surprised by who she saw standing in The Order's graveyard.

"Draco was worried when you didn't return home." The Dark Lord replied. "I offered to come and find you."

"How did you know I was here?" Hermione asked, standing up and brushing dirt off her jeans.

"It was only a matter of time until you showed up here." Voldemort sighed. "Especially once Severus informed you of this place."

"How did you know, Severus told me about the cemetery?" Hermione asked, puzzled by how much The Dark Lord seemed to know.

"Because I told him to tell you."

"Why?"

Voldemort studied Hermione for several minutes before speaking. She had obviously been crying for some time before he arrived as her face was red and puffy.

"It's time you dealt with what happened and moved on." Voldemort said. "You're never going to be able to settle down and be happy until you make peace with yourself."

"And you thought that coming here, would help me?" Hermione asked. She was beginning to think that coming here had only made things worse for herself.

"I hope so." Voldemort said.

"I don't think it will." Hermione sighed. "I just feel worse."

"Why?"

"Because all of these people died because of me." Hermione said, trying hard not to start crying again.

"That's not true. None of these people needed to die. They did so because they wouldn't surrender and we were left with no other option than to kill them." Voldemort said. "And what about all the people you saved?"

"I didn't save anybody. Except myself." Hermione shrugged.

"You saved the rest of The Order. You were the reason I didn't just kill them all. Hermione, you saved dozens of lives." Voldemort said, hoping he was getting through to the stubborn witch in front of him. "If the war had continued dozens more would have died, on both sides."

"Maybe." Hermione shrugged. She wanted to believe The Dark Lord but her guilt was making it hard to do so.

Voldemort sighed, he had tried but Hermione was very stubborn and was determined not to let herself believe him.

"Maybe you should stay here a bit longer." Voldemort said. "I'll tell Draco you're safe and will be home soon."

"Thank you." Hermione said, turning back to Harry's grave.

"Try and find some closure. If not for your sake then for Draco's, he's worried about you. We all are." Voldemort gave Hermione's shoulder a squeeze before apparating away, leaving Hermione alone once again

Voldemort had only been gone a few seconds before Hermione heard the crack of a twig coming from the trees behind the graves.

"Who's there?" Hermione asked, pointing her wand in the direction of the noise.

Slowly a figure emerged from the trees, causing Hermione to gasp with shock.

Standing in the cemetery, large as life was Harry Potter.


	32. Chapter 32

"Hello, Hermione." Harry said, walking towards his friend.

"No, this isn't possible. You're dead." Hermione whispered, pointing her wand at Harry shakily.

"Not quite." Harry said.

"I saw your body." Hermione said, closing her eyes to take away the ghostly vision.

"Hermione, look at me." Harry said, touching Hermione's arm and causing her eyes to fly open in surprise. "I'm real."

Hermione cautiously reached out and touched Harry, running her hands over his body to reassure herself he was really standing in front of her.

"How is this possible?" She whispered, still stunned by the appearance of her friend.

"I'm not sure if I can explain everything. But I can tell you what I know." Harry said.

"Yes. I need to know how you're here." Hermione said.

"Come on, let's go into the trees. No one must see me." Harry said, pulling Hermione into the trees he had just emerged from.

"Why mustn't anyone see you?" Hermione asked as she let Harry drag her into the trees.

"It's part of the deal." Harry said, stopping under a large tree. "I was allowed to come and see you on the condition I'm not seen by anyone else."

"What deal? Who allowed you to come and see me? I don't understand Harry." Hermione sank to the floor and buried her head in her hands. The last few minutes had confused her beyond belief and she was wondering if she was starting to go mad.

"It's probably easier if I start from the beginning. The final battle with Voldemort." Harry sat down next to Hermione. "We were fighting and I knew I couldn't kill him, I also knew I couldn't keep fighting. I was getting tired. I missed a blocking spell and I knew in that instant I was going to die. I saw the spell coming towards me and I closed my eyes, waiting to die."

"I'm still confused though. The spell hit you. I saw your body." Hermione said, still unwilling to believe Harry was sitting next to her.

"You'll have to ask Voldemort to explain that." Harry shrugged. "One minute I was at Hogwarts waiting to die, the next I woke up in a small room all alone. From what Voldemort said, I woke up two days after the battle at Hogwarts."

"You mean The Dark Lord knew you weren't dead?" Hermione asked, ignoring Harry's wince at her calling Voldemort, The Dark Lord.

"Yes. I'm assuming it's his house I'm being held in." Harry said, a trace of bitterness lacing his voice. "When I woke up I was in this small room with a single bed. I immediately figured out I was a prisoner and I tried to escape, but the room only had a bed and a table with some bottled water standing on it. I surprisingly found my wand in the bed and that's when I discovered I had no magic."

"He'd used the potion on you before you woke." Hermione said, starting to believe she was talking to the real Harry.

"I tried for ages to get my magic to work, but it wouldn't. By the time Voldemort came into the room hours later I was broken. I had no magic and was completely at his mercy."

"What happened?" Hermione asked, totally intrigued by Harry's story.

"I expected him to torture me. I thought that was his plan, capture me and torture me until I died." Harry said, remembering how terrified he had been. "But he didn't. Instead he mocked me."

"What about?" Hermione asked, confused.

"You. He said that with you I could have defeated him. With you I could have won the war." Harry sighed, he was only too aware of how true that fact was. "He then brought a pensieve into the room. He put it in the corner along with a box of vials containing memories. He said I should witness what I had thrown away."

"What does that mean?" Hermione queried.

Harry ignored the question, instead he carried on his story as though lost in his own thoughts.

"He then left me alone. He visited every day with food, water and some new memories. Each day he taunted me some more about you. It was days before I gave in and looked at the pensieve." Harry spoke slowly as he relived the memories as he spoke. "All the memories involved you. In some you were talking about how you disagreed with me and my actions. Others were Voldemort and various people discussing you and your turn to the dark side. I saw how you broke into both Hogwarts and Malfoy Manor."

Hermione wasn't sure what to say, so instead she stayed quiet and listened to Harry's story.

"The memories were designed to show me how valuable an asset you were and what I had lost. Apart from one visit a day from Voldemort I was all alone, left to wallow in the memories he had shown me and wonder if I made the right decisions." Harry said, looking distant. "I was beginning to realise he was right, that with you I could have won the war. Then he brought me some new memories that made me realise I was always doomed to lose you. And that you had made the right decision in defecting."

"What? What memories did he bring you?" Hermione asked, wondering how exactly Harry had come to the decision she had been right to defect.

"Memories of you and Malfoy. I saw how much you love each other. Seeing that made me realise why you did what you did. Defecting to the dark side was the only way you could ever be together." Harry looked at Hermione for the first time since he began to tell his story. "I saw your explain your reasoning on joining the dark side. How you figured that Malfoy could be pardoned if the war had ended early but when it went on you realised it couldn't happen."

"Yes. We were hoping the war would be over quickly." Hermione said.

"It wouldn't have mattered." Harry shook his head sadly. "There's something I've never told you. Even if we had won the war quickly, before Malfoy really started becoming involved with the Death Eaters activity, I wouldn't have let him be pardoned."

"But he hadn't done anything. He didn't want to take the mark, it was forced on him." Hermione protested, not wanting to believe what Harry was telling her.

"It doesn't matter. He still let the Death Eaters into the school the night of Dumbledore's attack. He may not have been the one to kill him, but I held him responsible for Dumbledore's death. I still do. There is no way I would have allowed him to walk free." Harry explained, hoping Hermione wouldn't leave before they finished talking.

"We never stood a chance if the light won." Hermione said, stunned. She was realising how close she had come to losing Draco by supporting Harry and the light. "The dark really was our only option."

"Yes. That's why I can't blame you for turning to them." Harry said.

Hermione sat quietly for a few minutes, digesting what Harry was telling her. "What happened next? How did you go from being stuck in a room to here?" Hermione finally asked, wanting to hear the end of Harry's story.

"Day's after showing me the last memories of you, Voldemort came to my room and explained about the potion he had given me. He then explained he planned on removing my memories and letting me live in the muggle world. He said I had you to thank for it. That you were the reason he had let me live." Harry said. "He then asked if I had any last requests."

"Did you?" Hermione asked.

"Yes. I asked to see you. I didn't want you living the rest of your life blaming yourself for my death. From the smirk he gave me when I made the request he had been expecting it."

"Probably, he's quite good at reading people and predicting what they will do." Hermione said.

"Anyway, he agreed to my request. He said he would come for me when I could see you." Harry said. "When he came to me today, he said it was time. He also said it was imperative no one but you saw me."

Hermione nodded, Harry's earlier comments about deals now making sense. What didn't make sense to Hermione was Harry's wish to see her.

"Why did you want to see me though? Surely you must blame me for what happened, I betrayed you and people ended up dying."

"I don't blame you, Hermione." Harry said, taking Hermione's hand in his own. "I don't like what you did but I understand why you did it. And I never thought I'd say it but I actually agree with Voldemort."

"What about?" Hermione asked. She was shocked that Harry would ever agree with Voldemort.

"People dying. He was right. If the war had continued lots more people would have died. If the light had won, most of the Death Eaters would have died including Malfoy." Harry said. He had deliberately used Malfoy to try and get his point across.

"What about those who died? They could be blamed on me. Especially Ron and Ginny."

"Voldemort was right there as well. Everyone who died, chose to fight to the death instead of surrendering. It was their choice." Harry said. "And Ron and Ginny acted rashly. They were never going to survive cursing a Death Eater, least of all Voldemort's favourite."

"I still don't understand how you don't hate me." Hermione said.

"I did until about a week ago." Harry admitted. "Even after viewing all those memories in the pensieve, I refused to stop blaming you for what happened. Even after I accepted why you had switched sides and accepted that you had done the right thing for yourself, I still hated you for doing so. I also hated you for not caring about switching sides and abandoning us."

"What changed?" Hermione asked, curious as to what had changed her friends mind.

"Before he told me about the potion and his plans for me, Voldemort showed by some more memories. They all revolved around Malfoy being hurt in the battle and afterwards when he was in the coma." Harry said. "Seeing how devastated you were at the possibility of losing Malfoy, I suddenly understood why you seemed to have no remorse over changing sides. I didn't see it before, but viewing those particular memories in the pensieve showed me that if you'd stayed and fought with us you'd have been betraying your own heart. I tried to carry on hating you but I found that I couldn't hate you after witnessing your devastation."

Hermione felt the tears welling up as Harry spoke, she had no idea that her friend could be so deep. She was touched by his sentiment although she still suspected he wasn't quite as forgiving as he appeared to be. Hermione had known Harry for years and was certain that there was a part of him that still hated her for what she had done.

"I have to go." Harry said, standing up. "But I want you to promise me something, Hermione."

"What?" Hermione asked, standing and facing her friend.

"Move on. You didn't go through all this to wallow in self-pity. Be happy, even if it is with Malfoy." Harry smiled at his friend.

"Thank you." Hermione flung her arms around Harry and hugged her friend. "You be happy as well."

"I'll try."

"How are you going to get back if you have no magic?" Hermione asked, as the friends broke the embrace.

"Voldemort cast some sort of spell, that returns me to the room at a certain time." Harry explained, looking at his watch. "And that time is now."

Hermione watched as Harry disappeared in front of her eyes. She knew she would never see him again, but she was relived he was alive.

* * *

When Hermione apparated back into Draco's bedroom, she found Draco and The Dark Lord talking quietly together. One look from Draco revealed that Voldemort had been filling him in on what had just occurred with Harry.

"I expect you want some answers." Voldemort said to Hermione.

"That would be nice." Hermione said, placing her bag on the floor. "I would quite like to know if you were ever going to tell me Harry was alive."

"Of course I was." Voldemort said. "Come and sit down and I'll explain everything."

Hermione walked over to where Draco and Voldemort were sitting beside the fire. She sat down on the sofa next to Draco and opposite The Dark Lord.

"After you joined us, it was always my plan to spare Potter's life. I'd learnt a spell that would enable me to transport Potter to a room in my house while leaving a projection of his dead body." Voldemort explained. "Everyone witnessing that battle would be left in no doubt that Harry Potter was dead."

"What about his body? Severus said you returned all the bodies to The Order so they could bury them properly." Hermione said.

"We did. Once the projection of Potter's body wore off we transfigured a rock to look like his body. None of the Order would have been any the wiser." Voldemort explained.

"We? Someone else knew about Harry." Hermione said, wondering who he was meaning by we.

"Yes. I told Severus when we were preparing to return the dead." Voldemort noticed the upset look on Hermione's face at the thought of Severus keeping something this important from her. "He wanted to tell you immediately, but I reassured him I would inform you when the time was right."

"Why not just kill Harry, it's what you've wanted for years." Hermione said, changing the subject. She would think about Severus later.

"You showed great loyalty to me by delivering Potter into my hands. I wanted to reward you. No-one was meant to die that night, but the Weasley's took matters into their own hands by hurting Draco." Voldemort said casually, trying to hide his sentimental side. "Besides, everyone thinks Potter's dead. By tonight he'll be living as a muggle in another country with no magic or memory of our world. He'll no longer be a threat."

"Why did you wait until now before saying anything?" Hermione asked.

"I was hoping that actually speaking to Potter in person would allow you to forgive yourself for what happened and allow you to move on with your life. But it's taken longer than I thought to get Potter to forgive you."

"That's why you kept showing him them memories. You wanted him to understand why I'd changed sides." Hermione said quietly. She was touched that Voldemort had gone to so much trouble to ease her conscience.

"Yes. Potter was pretty stubborn but hopefully it worked and you now feel better." Voldemort said, getting distinctly uncomfortable with revealing how much Hermione had come to mean to him.

"I do. Thank you." Hermione smiled at The Dark Lord.

"Good. I hope I don't have to say how vital it is that no one finds out about Potter. Apart from us three, Severus is the only one who knows and it must stay that way." Voldemort said, standing up. "I have to be off and maybe over the next few weeks we can start making plans for the future."

Voldemort quickly swept out of the room, reluctant to indulge in any more emotional talking. Hopefully now he could concentrate putting his new laws into place throughout the wizarding world.

When The Dark Lord had left the room, Draco turned to look at Hermione properly. For the first time since he had woken up his girlfriend didn't look as though she was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders.

"What?" Hermione asked, noticing Draco was looking at her closely.

"I'm just pleased you're feeling better." Draco smiled.

"So am I." Hermione sighed, resting her head on Draco's shoulder. "I think it's time we started to think about our future."

"That sounds like a good idea." Draco smiled, as he hugged Hermione closer to his body.


	33. Chapter 33

Draco had been working all morning on The Dark Lord's new laws for the wizarding world. After days of discussions between Voldemort and Draco and alterations of the laws, the final decisions were made. Draco had spent the entire morning assembling the laws and making sure they were clear so that Voldemort could start implementing them. The only laws they still had to sort out were the ones regarding muggleborn's and their rights to practice magic.

Draco knew that Hermione had spent the last few weeks hassling Voldemort about Muggleborn rights. Since finding out that Potter survived three weeks ago, Hermione had returned to her usual confident self. She was back to having opinions about everything and fighting for what she believed in, which at the minute was Muggleborn rights. Draco was thrilled to have the feisty, opinionated and slightly bossy witch he had fallen in love with back. In the first few weeks following Voldemort's victory, Hermione had been a shadow of her former self and Draco had been seriously worried about his girlfriend.

As Draco was finishing up on the last document, the door to the library flew open and Voldemort entered. The Dark Lord had a scowl on his face and was muttering under his breath as he made his way to the desk Draco was sitting at and sat down opposite him.

"Problem?" Draco asked, smirking slightly. He had a good idea what or more precisely who the problem was.

"Bloody Woman." Voldemort muttered. "You had to get involved with someone so headstrong and opinionated didn't you. You couldn't have found yourself a nice meek witch who did as she was told."

Draco couldn't help but laugh at The Dark Lord's annoyance. "You know Aunt Bella isn't exactly meek and obedient either."

"True." Voldemort smirked. He liked that Bella was confident enough to stand up to him.

"What's the problem this time?" Draco asked.

"The usual. Bugging me on Muggleborn rights." Voldemort shrugged. "I thought this dragon thing would keep her occupied but she still finds time to pester me."

In the last fortnight, Hermione and Charlie had begun to seriously discuss opening a dragon sanctuary in England. They had decided to form a business partnership, to get the sanctuary up and running. Hermione was spending hours with Charlie as they planned their sanctuary but she still found time for Draco, and it seemed she still found time to hassle The Dark Lord.

"You were always expecting her to have an opinion." Draco pointed out. "Besides you should be grateful she's only bugging you about muggleborn's and not banging on about the rights of house elves."

"House elves?" Voldemort looked appalled at the idea that someone could fight for house elves rights.

"Yes. She was very vocal about the subject in school." Draco said. He could remember how she had lectured him frequently on his own use of house elves.

"That is something I'm not willing to discuss." Voldemort said, dismissing the idea out of hand. "I do however feel that we need to think about muggleborn's and what we plan on doing about them. I'm hoping me and you can come up with something that will pacify Hermione. At least for a while."

"What sort of thing were you thinking? If you want to stop Hermione badgering you for a while, you'll have to give muggleborn's some sort of rights." Draco said.

"I know. But I don't want to alienate everyone who followed me because I believed in blood purity." Voldemort said. "If I allow muggleborn's too many rights, it could cause trouble."

"We both know that no one is going to cause too much trouble. You do after all possess a potion that can strip people's magic." Draco said. "And we both know that you're not bothered by blood purity."

"What makes you say that. I detest muggles." Voldemort said.

"You may detest muggles but that doesn't mean you're bothered about blood superiority. You're not a pure blood and neither is Severus. It's power that appeals to you." Draco wondered if he was overstepping the mark by saying these things, but he carried on when Voldemort didn't stop him. "All these purebloods who believe they're better than everyone else were the best option for you to gain power. You used your family connections with Salazar Slytherin to convince them to follow you. I'm pretty sure that if you thought you could gain more by supporting muggleborn's you would have used your muggle heritage to garner support with them."

Voldemort looked at Draco for a long time. He was surprised that Draco understood him well enough to see his real motives in supporting blood purity.

"That may be true." Voldemort said eventually. "But I still prefer to keep things as pure as possible."

Draco shook his head slightly, he knew there was no sense in arguing with The Dark Lord. Instead he concentrated on trying to think of solutions that could satisfy everyone.

"How about we only let the more talented muggleborn's practice magic." Draco suggested.

"I like that. But how can we tell which ones those are." Voldemort asked.

"It's usually fairly obvious from when people start school as to how much potential they show for magic." Draco explained. "Hermione for example. It was obvious in first year that she was going to be an extremely talented witch."

"Yes, but I don't want a pile of muggleborn's attending Hogwarts and then we find out they're not very talented." Voldemort said. He liked Draco's idea but it needed some more organising. "And what about the muggleborn's who are older than school age?"

"I'm sure we could come up with some sort of test to see how much magical ability someone has. And as for the muggleborn's already in the wizarding world, they should all be on the Muggleborn registration programme." Draco said.

"So you're suggesting we round up the muggleborn's and test them for magical abilities. If we're satisfied then they can continue living on out world."

"Yes. And if we don't think they have enough magical ability we give them the potion and return them to the muggle world." Draco said. "That way only the best muggleborn's are part of our world."

"Do you think this plan will satisfy Hermione?" Voldemort asked.

"Hopefully. At least for a while." Draco said, hoping he was right. "Especially if you ask her to be involved in designing the test to assess magical ability."

"I'll do that." Voldemort said. "But now we need to talk about you and your future."

"What about me?" Draco asked warily.

"It's nothing bad." Voldemort reassured Draco. "I just want to ask you about your plans for the future. I know for the last few years you've been my right hand man and I was wondering if you were planning on continuing to do so."

"Why wouldn't I carry on?" Draco asked. "Unless you don't want me to."

"Of course I do. You have always been a large part of my plans. I just wasn't sure if things had changed now Hermione is a more permanent part of your life." Voldemort explained his thoughts.

"Hermione doesn't change anything. I've worked hard these last few years to prove myself useful to you."

"Good. I was hoping things wouldn't change." Voldemort said. He was relieved that Draco would still be closely involved with his business. "What about the travelling? Will that be a problem?"

"No." Draco shook his head. "Me and Hermione have spent the last five years sneaking the odd few hours together. Me travelling occasionally won't be a problem."

"That's good. Now I need to speak with Hermione." Voldemort said, standing up. "Do you know where she is?"

"She was in the garden with mother." Draco told Voldemort.

With a nod to Draco, The Dark Lord swept out of the library and headed to the garden in search of Hermione.

* * *

Hermione knelt in the dirt, weeding the rose garden as she happily chatted to Narcissa. When Hermione had accepted Narcissa's offer of a morning in the garden she expected they would maybe be taking a walk around the vast and beautiful garden or sitting enjoying the hot summer weather. But when she arrived in the garden Hermione found Narcissa dressed in casual clothing, holding gardening equipment in her hands. Hermione was shocked to find that the elegant blonde woman did her own gardening.

Despite her initial shock, Hermione soon joined Narcissa in the garden. Within minutes the two women were chatting like old friends as they worked on the beautiful roses.

Narcissa and Hermione discussed many things over the course of the morning, including Hermione and Draco's plans for the future. When Voldemort appeared in the garden Narcissa was just telling Hermione about her latest visit to Pansy. Pansy was anxiously awaiting the birth of her first child who was currently five days late in arriving.

"Sorry to interrupt ladies." Voldemort said upon his arrival at the two women. "I was hoping to talk to Hermione."

"Of course." Hermione said, standing up.

While Narcissa headed back indoors, Hermione got out her wand and tidied herself up a bit before she turned to The Dark Lord.

"Is everything okay?" Hermione asked, nervously.

"Yes. There's just a few things I want to discuss with you." Voldemort said. "Let's walk."

Hermione and The Dark Lord walked for a few minutes, heading towards the lake at the bottom of the garden.

"As you know Draco has been sorting the new laws out." Voldemort said as they came to a bench beside the lake. "We discussed muggleborn's this morning."

Hermione sat down on the bench and waited for Voldemort for continue talking. She was interested in hearing what ideas he had come up with before offering her opinion.

"We've decided that we need to implement some sort of test to determine how much magical ability each muggleborn has. Only the ones with the best abilities will be allowed to live in our world." Voldemort explained.

"What sort of test? And what happens to those who fail to live up to your high expectations?" Hermione asked.

"Those who don't have enough magical ability will be given the potion to remove all magic from them and then their memories will be modified and they will return to their muggle lives." Voldemort said. "As for the test, I'm hoping you can come up with something suitable."

"You want me to design the test." Hermione was shocked that The Dark Lord was placing so much trust in her.

"Yes. We need something to determine how much potential a person has. If muggleborn's are to be allowed in our world, I want the best." Voldemort said.

"Potential doesn't necessarily equal a powerful magical being." Hermione pointed out. "Someone with potential needs the right education and support."

"I know." Voldemort nodded. Hermione had inadvertently opened the door to his next point of interest. "Again, that's where I'm hoping you can come in. I want you to go and teach at Hogwarts when the school starts again in September."

"You want me to become a Professor?" Hermione had often thought about teaching in her teenage years but the war had made her forget her ambitions in that area.

"Yes. You'll be on hand to make sure the muggleborn's reach their potential. And everyone else of course." Voldemort said. "I'd also have another person I trust at the school. That way when I needed Severus somewhere else, I would know the school was in good hands."

"You'd trust me to temporarily run the school." Hermione said, surprised.

"Yes. I was actually hoping that one day you would be headmistress." Voldemort chuckled at Hermione's spluttering shock. "Severus has to retire sometime and I can't think of anyone better to succeed him."

"I don't know." Hermione shook her head slowly. "I'm not sure if I could do that."

"By the time Severus retires you'll have had plenty of experience." Voldemort reassured Hermione. "Take some time to think about it. I don't need an answer straight away. Discuss it with Draco."

"I will." Hermione said, smiling as the idea began to grow on her.

"While you're thinking about my offer, you can start working on the muggleborn test."

Hermione nodded thoughtfully. She was already anticipating several hours of research to come up with some sort of suitable test.

"I'll leave you to it." Voldemort smirked as he noticed Hermione's large brain was already focused on the test.

After Voldemort had left, Hermione sat for several minutes as her mind wandered over possibilities for the test. Deciding she needed to begin her research immediately, Hermione stood up and headed back towards the large Manor.


	34. Chapter 34

Hermione was sitting cross-legged on Draco's bed, as she studied the books surrounding her. She was dressed casually in a pair of jeans and Draco's old Slytherin Quidditch jersey. For the last two days, Hermione had been researching ideas for the muggleborn tests. She was coming up with some good ideas and was confident she would have some sort of suitable test organised within the next week.

Reaching for the next book, Hermione had barely opened it when the floo network sounded. Hermione looked up, shocked to see a dishevelled Theo Nott appear in the room. Hermione had seen Theo regularly at Death Eater meetings but had only really gotten to know him while Draco was in his coma. Theo and his fiancée, Pansy had visited Draco a few times.

"Theo. What's wrong?" Hermione asked, immediately worrying about Pansy and the baby.

"Pansy's gone into labour." Theo said, slightly out of breath.

"Shouldn't you be with her then?" Hermione asked, wondering why he was here instead of with Pansy.

"I'm going. I was hoping Draco would come with me. He's better at keeping Pansy calm." Theo explained.

"You go back to Pansy. I'll make sure Draco goes to the hospital." Hermione smiled, standing up from the bed.

"Thank you." Theo shouted as he flooed to St Mungo's.

Chuckling at Theo's nervousness, Hermione went to find Draco. She found her boyfriend with Lucius in the main living room of the Manor.

"Sorry to interrupt, but Theo's just called round. Pansy's gone into labour and he wants you at the hospital." Hermione said as she entered the room.

"Why does he want me? I can't do anything." Draco looked slightly worried about his presence being required at the birth of his godchild.

"I think he just needs some moral support." Hermione told her boyfriend.

"Well go on then, move." Lucius said, prodding his son in the arm. "It's never wise to keep a pregnant woman waiting."

"Fine." Draco said, standing up. "I'll get ready and then we'll go."

"We'll? It's you they want not me." Hermione protested as she followed Draco out of the living room.

"If I have to go and offer moral support than you're coming with me." Draco said, heading towards his bedroom. "You'll probably be better than me at it anyway."

Hermione reluctantly gave in and got ready to head to the hospital with Draco. She was unsure of whether Pansy would want her at the hospital. When Pansy had been to visit Draco the two women had been polite to each other, but Hermione got the distinct impression that the former Slytherin blamed her for Draco being in a coma. Since Draco had been awake, he had either gone to visit Pansy at her house or she came to visit whenever Hermione was busy elsewhere.

When they were ready, Hermione accompanied Draco to St Mungo's. When they arrived at the hospital they headed to the maternity ward to find Theo. A medi-witch directed them to a private room at the end of the corridor. When they arrived they found a nervous Theo pacing the floor.

"Theo. Why aren't you with Pansy?" Draco asked his friend as they approached.

"She chucked me out." Theo sighed. "Apparently I was making her nervous."

"What were you doing?" Draco asked.

"Nothing." Theo replied, continuing to pace the floor.

"Maybe she'd be more relaxed if you stopped pacing." Hermione suggested.

"Hermione's right. I'll go and see Pansy, you try and relax." Draco said.

While Draco headed into Pansy's room to see his friend, Theo sat down next to Hermione.

"Do you want a drink?" Hermione asked.

"No." Theo shook his head. "You'd think I'd be ready wouldn't you. I've been waiting months for this."

"I'm sure it's natural to be nervous." Hermione said, trying to be reassuring.

"I suppose." Theo sighed, leaning back in his seat. "I'm just worried, I'll be a rubbish father."

"You won't. The fact that you care enough to worry about fatherhood, proves you'll be a good dad."

"Thanks, Hermione." Theo smiled.

Theo and Hermione sat talking for a few more minutes, before Draco came out of Pansy's room and a much calmer Theo returned to his fiancée's side.

* * *

While they were waiting for news of Pansy and the baby, Draco and Hermione had a proper talk about children. They both admitted they wanted more than one child but not too many. Both had been only children and had each longed for a sibling to play with when they were younger. Draco also said he had no desire to breed excessively like The Weasley's.

While they were talking about the future they lost track of time and didn't realise it was nearly three hours before a delighted looking Theo emerged from Pansy's room.

"It's a girl. I've got a daughter." Theo announced a wide grin on his face.

"Congratulations, mate." Draco said.

"That's great, Theo." Hermione smiled.

"I'm off to tell everyone. Pansy wants to see you." Theo said. "Both of you." He added when Hermione made no effort to move.

"She wants to see me as well?" Hermione asked, surprised.

"Yes, go." Theo said before heading off down the corridor.

Draco took hold of Hermione's hand and led her into Pansy's room. Pansy was propped up in bed cradling what looked like a bundle of blankets. Still holding Hermione's hand, Draco headed for Pansy's bedside.

"You did great Pansy." Draco said, kissing his friend on the forehead as he looked at the tiny bundle in her arms. "She's beautiful."

"Congratulations." Hermione smiled.

"Thank you." Pansy said, staring at her new born daughter in awe.

"Have you decided on a name yet?" Hermione asked. She knew from what Draco had said that Theo and Pansy had several options for names picked out before the baby was born.

"Yes. We're going to call her Jasmine." Pansy said.

"That's lovely." Hermione smiled.

Draco was pleased to see his girlfriend and friend getting on. He had recently talked to Pansy and asked her to give Hermione a chance and to make an effort with the woman he loved. Pansy had agreed and so far seemed to be keeping to her word.

"Do you want to hold her?" Pansy asked Draco, drawing him back into the conversation.

"I don't know, Pansy. I've never had any experience with babies." Draco looked uncertain about holding someone so tiny and fragile.

"Well neither have I and I'm managing." Pansy said. "You're her godfather you have to learn to hold her."

"Okay." Draco said, still sounding slightly nervous about the whole idea.

Pansy carefully handed Jasmine over to Draco, giving him instructions on how to hold her.

"See, that's not so bad is it." Pansy said as Draco settled down in a chair, cradling his goddaughter. "Besides it's good practice for when you and Granger have children." Pansy added with a smirk.

Draco just smiled and continued to observe the tiny baby in his arms in wonderment. For the first time he actually let himself think about having children of his own. When Pansy was pregnant and he realised he wanted children with Hermione, he had tried to ignore the feelings as at the time they seemed impossible. But with their new situation he realised it was very possible for them to have children together and hopefully likely to happen one day.

Hermione watched Draco cradling Jasmine with a lump in her throat. He looked so perfect with a baby in his arms and Hermione was looking forward to the day it would be their child he was holding.

"He's a natural." Pansy whispered to Hermione.

"He seems to be." Hermione agreed.

"Hermione, can we start again and try to become friends? You mean a lot to Draco and he means a lot to me, so it would be easier if we got along." Pansy said, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"I'd like that, Pansy." Hermione smiled.

Draco smirked slightly as he listened to Hermione and Pansy talking and agreeing to try and be friends. He was pleased, it would make his life a whole lot easier if the two women got along.

"Draco, give me back my daughter." Pansy ordered. "Hermione needs to hold her."

"I'm fine, really. You don't have to do that." Hermione said, shaking her head.

"I insist." Pansy smiled as she passed her daughter to Hermione.

Hermione looked down at the tiny girl in her arms. She was beautiful. She already had a head full of thick black hair. Her little eyes were tightly closed as she was fast asleep, despite been passed around the room.

"She's so gorgeous." Hermione said softly.

After holding Jasmine for a few more minutes, Hermione handed her back to Pansy. When Theo returned to the room a few minutes later, Draco and Hermione decided it was time to leave the small family alone.

* * *

When they arrived back at the Manor, Draco and Hermione started to get ready for dinner. They were heading to Severus' for dinner as Hermione wished to discuss Voldemort's recent offer with him.

Hermione had discussed the idea of working at Hogwarts with Draco the day Voldemort had first mentioned it to her. Draco had been incredibly supportive and told Hermione she should agree to take the job, if that was what she wanted to do. Hermione was fairly certain she wanted to accept the offer, but she wished to talk to Severus first seen as he was in charge of the school.

When Hermione was dressed she tidied up her research from earlier while she waited for Draco to finish getting ready. When Draco was finally dressed, the couple flooed straight to Severus' cottage.

Hermione had never visited her former potions master's house, so upon arrival she was amazed by the dazzling array of books Severus had lining his walls. While Draco and Severus chatted quietly Hermione examined the books, finding several rare and priceless books.

"We better have dinner, before Hermione becomes so engrossed in my books she forgets the point of her visit." Severus said, watching as the brunette witch wandered around his front room.

Draco laughed and Hermione scowled, but both followed Severus into the dining room. When they were seated Severus' house elf, Suzy, served dinner and the reason for the young couples visit was brought up.

"I would be delighted if you came to teach at Hogwarts." Severus said when Hermione asked him about his opinions on the matter.

"That's great. I wanted to do it but I needed to make sure you were alright with it." Hermione beamed happily.

"Of course I'm alright with it. It'll be good to have a really competent Professor." Severus said.

"What subject would I teach?" Hermione wondered where there were any vacancies at the school.

"Whichever one you desired." Severus said. "Although I was hoping you would teach either Transfiguration or Potions."

"Why those two?" Draco asked.

"They're the two most difficult subjects and ideally should be taught by someone who understands the finer points of each topic." Severus explained.

Hermione thought over her choices. While Transfiguration might be nice to teach she was unsure of following in McGonagall's footsteps, especially as the older woman had made it clear that she disapproved of Hermione's choices. Potions however would provide a challenge, she had always enjoyed the subject in school.

"I think Potions would be good." Hermione finally said.

"That would be great." Severus smiled, he had been hoping the brunette would teach his former subject.

The rest of dinner was spent discussing Hermione's imminent arrival on the staff at Hogwarts. Severus explained that the current Potions Professor could be switched to teach Charms, while the current Charms Professor could finally retire.

Draco and Hermione stayed at Severus' cottage for several hours, talking and making plans before the younger couple left to return home.

* * *

Hermione was lying in bed reading when Draco emerged from the bathroom. Walking over to his dressing table he downed a nasty tasting pain potion, which he was still taking to deal with the lingering pain in his back, side and shoulder. After taking the potion Draco headed over to his bed and climbed in next to his girlfriend.

"I'm pleased you decided to teach Potion's." Draco said, as he settled down.

"So am I." Hermione said, putting her book down. "I think it made Severus happy."

"That's not what I meant." Draco smirked. "I was thinking we could relive old times."

Hermione laughed lightly when she realised what he meant. While they were at school one of their favourite meeting places was the Potions classroom. Draco always knew if Severus was going to be around or not, so they were never in any danger of getting caught.

"I'm not sure I know what you mean." Hermione said, playing dumb.

"When you start work, I'll have to remind you." Draco said, rolling over and trapping Hermione underneath him. "I think I'll start with the Professor's desk. We had a lot of fun on there."

"That sounds like a plan." Hermione said before leaning up and kissing Draco.

* * *

**A/N - There is one more chapter and an epilogue to go and then this story is complete. There will be a sequel which I am nearly about to begin serious work on.**


	35. Chapter 35

Severus exited his office and headed in the direction of the dungeons. He was delivering some new potions ingredients to Hermione's office. So far he was thrilled with how easy Hermione had settled into teaching and he was amazed how natural she found it after only spending a few weeks in the job.

By the time he arrived at Hermione's office, Severus had taken house points off three Gryffindors and given detentions to two Hufflepuff's and one Ravenclaw. Severus had been surprised but happy that Hermione had requested his old office as her own. He had offered her a one a bit higher up in the building but Hermione insisted it was easier if her office and classroom were together.

Severus knew it was the brunette witch's birthday the next day and that she had plans with Draco, so he expected her to have already left the castle for the weekend. Out of habit he knocked on Hermione's door before entering. He wasn't expecting an answer so was surprised when Hermione's voice sounded telling him to enter.

"I thought you would have left already." Severus said, placing the box he was carrying on Hermione's desk.

"I just wanted to finish this marking." Hermione said.

"The marking can wait. Go and celebrate your birthday." Severus said.

"I suppose you're right." Hermione sighed, putting her quill down.

"Of course I am." Severus said as he exited the room.

Hermione tidied her work up and gathered her belongings before heading to the fireplace in her office. Stepping into the green flames she flooed directly to her and Draco's bedroom.

They had talked about moving out of the Manor to somewhere of their own but decided to stay put for the time being. They had their own wing and plenty of privacy but they were still able to see the rest of the family on a regular basis. They also still had their private island in Italy for when they wanted to be truly alone. Hermione wasn't even sure she ever wanted to move out of the beautiful Manor she had come to love and to call home.

Arriving back at the Manor, Hermione was surprised to find an empty room, bar Crookshanks curled up on a chair. She had fully expected Draco to be around.

"Draco." She called, wondering if her boyfriend was in a different room.

Hermione put her bag on the floor and started searching for Draco. A few minutes later she came back to the bedroom still not having found Draco. It was then she spotted the large white box lying in the centre of the bed.

Hermione walked over the bed, and moved the box nearer to the edge of the bed. Lying on top of the box was a gold envelope with her name written on it, in Draco's neat handwriting. Opening the envelope she read the message inside.

**_Happy Birthday, Beautiful._**

**_The first part of your present is inside the box._**

**_Put it on and meet me at our island at eight._**

**_Love you. xxx_**

Hermione smiled at Draco's note and put it to one side for her to keep. Hermione lifted the box lid, fairly surprised by what she found. From the note she had expected some sort of clothing and she was right, it was a gorgeous dress. But she had been expecting the dress to be either green or silver, Draco always preferred her in his old house colours. Instead the dress was a pale lilac colour.

Hermione lifted the dress from the box to examine it more closely. It was floor length, with a slit part way up the left side. The dress was obviously the sort that hugged your body, and it had one diamond encrusted strap which went over the right shoulder.

Hermione checked the time, hoping she would have time for a quick bath before she had to meet Draco. Luckily she had over an hour before she was meeting Draco. Placing the dress back in the box, Hermione headed into the bathroom for a nice soak.

* * *

Hermione checked her reflection for the third time. She was wearing the beautiful dress that Draco had brought her, it fit her perfectly and showed off her figure nicely. She had used a couple of spells on her sometimes uncontrollable hair, and it now fell in soft curls down her back. The only jewellery she wore was her silver heart necklace that she used to use to communicate with Draco.

Satisfied with her appearance, Hermione grabbed her wand and apparated to the island. Arriving in the front room of the Villa, Hermione looked around for any sign of her boyfriend. Like when she had returned home, there was no sign of Draco. As she was heading to look for him, she spotted another little gold envelope sitting on the coffee table. Like before he name was written on it, again in Draco's handwriting. Opening it she read his newest message.

_**I hope you liked the first part of your present.**_

_**The second part is waiting at the Marina.**_

_**See you soon. xxx**_

Once again Hermione put the card to one side for her to keep. Heading out of the Villa, she wondered what Draco was up to. They never used the marina that was part of the island as they always apparated to and from the place. Draco often joked he would one day buy a large boat to sit in the marina and make it look complete.

Turning onto the marina, Hermione stopped in her tracks. Maybe Draco hadn't been joking after all. Sitting in the marina was a large boat, the type she has only seen in pictures of millionaires with their fancy yachts.

Hermione walked towards the large boat, stopping uncertainly when she got near to the edge of the dock. There was a ramp leading from the dock to the boat, but still no sign of Draco. Deciding her boyfriend must be on the yacht somewhere, she started to walk up the ramp.

Once she was aboard the yacht, Hermione was unsure of the direction in which she should go. She looked around for any clues and spotted a gold star on the floor. Hermione bent to pick up the star, wondering what it was, when it suddenly rose into the air so it was hovering in front of her. Hermione realised it was an enchanted star, designed to point people in the right direction.

Hermione waited for the star to start moving. When it slowly started travelling towards the front of the yacht, Hermione followed it. Hermione followed the star onto the top deck before it shimmered and disappeared, leaving her alone once again. Hermione decided she was where she was supposed to be and she figured if she stayed where she was that Draco would eventually show up.

Hermione's theory worked out perfectly as a few seconds later she heard a noise behind her and when she turned round she found Draco standing there. He was wearing black dress trousers and a very dark blue shirt, quite the contrasting appearance from her own pale dress.

"You look gorgeous." Draco said, looking Hermione up and down.

"Thank you." Hermione smiled. "The dress is lovely."

"I'm pleased you like it." Draco started walking across the deck so she was standing directly in front of Hermione. "Hopefully you'll like the second part of your present."

"You mean the yacht isn't my present." Hermione said, she was quite enjoying being on the boat.

"No. The yacht's for me." Draco said, wrapping his arms around Hermione's waist. "I've always said the island needs a yacht."

Hermione laughed lightly and pulled Draco's head down so their lips were inches apart. "So where's my present then." She whispered.

"Later." Draco said. He then gave Hermione a quick kiss before pulling back from her. "I'd thought we'd eat first."

Draco pulled his wand out from his pocket and waved it in the air. Suddenly a blanket with a picnic neatly laid out on it appeared on the deck of the yacht. With another flick of Draco's wand, dozens of candles suddenly appeared around the deck, giving the scene a romantic feeling.

"Are you sure this isn't my present. It's beautiful." Hermione said.

"No, this is dinner." Draco laughed, settling on the floor and pulling Hermione down to join him.

For the next hour, Draco and Hermione enjoyed the picnic and each other's company. When they had finished eating, Draco vanished the picnic but left the numerous candles flickering gently in the sea breeze.

"Now it's time for your present." Draco said.

Hermione watched intrigued as Draco took a deep breath seemingly calming himself. She had noticed her boyfriend had become more nervous as the night wore on. When Draco suddenly pulled a small black box out of his pocket, Hermione understood why he had been nervous. Her own heart had started pounding rapidly at the sight of the box, she just hoped what she was expecting to see was actually what was in the box.

"Hermione, will you marry me?" Draco asked, flipping open the box to reveal an elegant looking engagement ring.

A huge smile broke out on Hermione's face as she heard Draco ask the question she had never thought he would be able to ask because of the war.

"Of course I will." Hermione beamed.

Draco grinned and took the ring out of the box, sliding it onto Hermione's finger. Hermione looked at the ring. The silver band was thin and delicate, it had one larger diamond with two smaller ones on either side of it. The entire ring was understated but sophisticated and elegant, Hermione loved it.

"It's gorgeous, I love it." Hermione told Draco.

"Good." Draco smiled, pulling Hermione to him and kissing her passionately. "I love you." He said, pulling back slightly.

"I love you, too." Hermione responded quietly. "More than anything."

Draco gave Hermione another kiss, this one soft and sweet, before he abruptly stood up. Before Hermione could ask what he was doing, he had pulled her to her feet and into his arms.

Hermione felt the pull of apparition and a few seconds later the pair were standing in the bedroom of the Villa. Hermione looked around the room, like the deck of the yacht the room was filled with candles.

Hermione had been quite surprised by the night so far, she had no idea Draco could be so romantic. She absentmindedly wondered if he had had help, but decided it didn't matter because the night had been so perfect.

Hermione turned back to Draco to find the blond watching her intently. Without speaking, the couple gravitated back into each other's arms, their lips meeting in a passionate kiss. As the kissing got more heated, the couple's hands started wandering. As Hermione started unbuttoning Draco's shirt, Draco's hand was wandering round Hermione's body looking for the zip to her dress.

Breaking the kiss, Hermione stepped away from Draco slightly. While Draco used the opportunity to rid himself of his shirt and trousers, Hermione found the zipper on her dress. Pulling the zipper on her side down, Hermione pulled her right arm out of the shoulder strap and let the dress pool around her feet. Draco was watching hungrily as his fiancée let her dress fall to the ground, leaving her in only a pair of lacy knickers and her heels.

Hermione picked up her dress and placed it over a chair, she didn't want it to get ruined. Kicking off her shoes, she walked back over to the bed where Draco was standing watching her. When she was close enough for him to touch her, Draco reached out and pulled Hermione up against him.

As Draco dipped his head and began kissing Hermione's neck and collar bone, Hermione let her hands wander over Draco's torso. She carefully traced one of his newest scars that were located on his side and back, remembering how close she had come to losing him.

Realising what Hermione was thinking about, Draco stopped his actions and grabbed Hermione's hand that was tracing his scar.

"Don't think about it. It's in the past." Draco said quietly.

"I know." Hermione said, her eyes still lingering on the scar.

"Then forget about it." Draco said. He moved to the bed and got on, propping himself up with the pillows. "Come here." He said, reaching out his hand to Hermione.

Hermione climbed onto the bed, straddling Draco's lap. Draco immediately pulled Hermione to him and kissed her softly.

"Now it's time to celebrate." Draco grinned, pulling Hermione into a passionate kiss.

* * *

Hours later, Hermione and Draco lay in bed talking about the future. Hermione was lying tucked against Draco, her left hand tracing patterns on Draco's torso.

"Do you think Lucius will be okay with this?" Hermione asked, looking at her engagement ring. Even though she had become a lot closer to Draco's father she was still unsure how he would feel about Draco marrying a muggleborn and tainting the Malfoy bloodline.

"He was fine with it." Draco said.

"He already knows?" Hermione asked, sitting up.

"Yes. He overheard me when I was talking to mother and aunt Bella." Draco admitted.

"Narcissa and Bella both know." Hermione said. She had been quite looking forward to telling people but it seems everyone knew of Draco's plan to propose.

"Yes, they suggested the candles and picnic." Draco said. "Apparently my original plan wasn't romantic enough."

"What was your original plan?" Hermione asked.

"I was just going to bring you to the island for the weekend and propose."

"What was wrong with that?" Hermione asked. She could see nothing wrong with his original plan.

"Apparently it was boring." Draco rolled his eyes. "Mother and aunt Bella said I needed to make a fuss of you."

"It was a great night." Hermione smiled. "But I wouldn't have cared how you proposed. I would have said yes, even if you just blurted it out in front of everyone."

Draco smiled and pulled Hermione back down beside him.

"There was another reason Mother and aunt Bella didn't just want me bringing you to the island for the weekend." Draco admitted.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"They want to throw an engagement party." Draco said.

"What does that have to do with us spending the weekend here? Surely they can just throw the party when we return."

"They want it to be tomorrow night." Draco admitted.

"My birthday." Hermione muttered. For weeks Narcissa had been trying to convince her to hold a large party to celebrate her birthday. Not liking to be at the centre of people's attention Hermione had been steadfastly refusing the witch's offer. It looked like Draco's mother had gotten her own way after all.

"You'll have to get used to her getting her own way. Apparently Malfoy women always get their own way." Draco said. He was fully aware of his mother's manipulation regarding Hermione's birthday party.

"I'll have to remember that for when I'm a Malfoy." Hermione grinned at Draco and moved so she was sitting on top of him. "I think I'll like getting my own way."


	36. Epilogue

**Christmas Eve – Two Years Later.**

Hermione was sitting in the front room of Malfoy Manor, a box of expensive chocolates placed beside her as she read her book. Crookshanks and Nagini were curled up together in front of the roaring fire and a large Christmas tree, decorated in silver, stood in the corner of the room.

"There you are." Narcissa said, entering the room and heading towards where her daughter-in-law was sitting. "What do you think of the final plans."

Narcissa moved Hermione's chocolates and sat down next to her on the sofa, placing a large piece of parchment on Hermione's knee. Hermione put her book down and scanned the plans for the annual Malfoy New Year's Eve ball.

After the elaborate birthday/engagement party Narcissa had thrown two years ago, Hermione had vowed never to attend another such celebration. When she told Draco this he just laughed and informed her that his mother loved hosting parties and it was something she would have to endure like the rest of the family. So for the last two and a bit years Hermione had attended all sorts of parties including birthdays, anniversaries, New Years and of course her own wedding reception.

"It looks magnificent, Narcissa." Hermione replied, genuinely meaning it. While she wasn't a fan of the parties there was no denying that Narcissa did an amazing job organising them, even down to the finest detail.

"I hope so. I know we don't normally do a sit down meal for New Year but I thought it might be easier for you." Narcissa smiled at her daughter-in-law.

"You really didn't have to do that, Narcissa. We're not even sure if I'll be there." Hermione said, moving uncomfortably on the sofa. Hermione was currently heavily pregnant and the baby was due on December thirtieth, one day before the party.

"The baby might be early you know." Narcissa said, hoping her daughter-in-law would be able to attend the party. "Draco was three weeks early."

Hermione nodded, secretly hoping the baby wouldn't be early so she could have a genuine excuse to miss one of Narcissa's exhausting parties.

"Do you need anything?" Narcissa asked. "I really must get on planning tomorrow."

"No, I'm fine." Hermione smiled as her mother-in-law hurried out the room, to undertake some more organising and planning.

Sometimes Hermione thought Narcissa's main reason for living was organising events for her family. With the next day being Christmas the rest of the family; Bella, Severus and Voldemort were coming to dinner and Narcissa wanted it to be perfect. Hermione was unsure what all the stress was about, this would be her third Christmas with the family and the previous two had both run smoothly without any hitches.

After Narcissa had left the room, Hermione didn't pick her book back up, instead she watched the crackling fire and thought about all the people she used to spend the holidays with. Hermione had long since come to terms with the new order of the wizarding world but the holiday season always made her reminisce.

The only people from her past she had regular contact with was Charlie and Luna. Obviously she was business partners with Charlie, although she was more of a silent partner since her main career was as a professor at Hogwarts. Luna had re-established their friendship a few months after the battle at Hogwarts, and Hermione often spent the day with the ditzy blonde. As the only two members of the Order who had contact with Hermione, Charlie and Luna also spent a lot of time together and a close friendship had blossomed despite the age difference between the pair.

None of the other members of the Order who had retained their magic kept in contact with Hermione, the only things she knew about their lives was what Charlie and Luna told her. The only reason Hermione knew about the birth of Tonks' son, Teddy Remus, was because Charlie had told her. He had shown her a couple of pictures of the young boy who seemed to have inherited Tonks' metamorphous ability.

A pain in her stomach, brought Hermione back to the present. Placing her hand on her large stomach, she could feel the baby kicking and squirming around.

"You're lively today." Hermione said, talking to the baby bump. "I hope that means you're eager to see us."

Another pain in her stomach caused Hermione to gasp in shock. Maybe the pain wasn't just the baby kicking, it seemed much more intense than when he normally kicked. Hermione sat on the sofa for ten more minutes and when she experienced more pains she decided to get up. When she had finally managed to move her huge bulk off the sofa, Hermione felt another intense pain. As she was holding her stomach she felt her waters break, looking down she found she was standing in a small pool of water.

"Narcissa." She yelled as loud as she could, even though she doubted her mother-in-law would hear her in the huge house they lived in. "Dipsy." When there was no response from Narcissa, Hermione summoned a house elf. While Hermione still didn't agree with house elves working without pay, it was an issue The Dark lord refused to discuss, she had convinced Lucius not to mistreat his elves.

"Mistress, Hermione. Are you okay?" Dipsy said worriedly.

"The baby's coming. Get Narcissa." Hermione said, gasping as another pain hit her. "And Draco." She had no idea where her husband was, he had left the Manor earlier in the morning with Voldemort, but knew the elf could find him using the magic that bound her to the Malfoy family.

A few seconds after Dipsy apparated away, Narcissa came flying into the room.

"Let's get you to St Mungo's." Narcissa said, immediately taking charge and shepherding Hermione towards the parlour and the fireplace that was used for travelling via the floo network.

* * *

It was half an hour later and Hermione was settled into a private room at St Mungo's, when Draco finally appeared at his wife's side.

"Where the hell have you been?" Hermione practically screamed as Draco burst into the room.

"Sorry, baby. We were in a meeting in Poland and it took a long time for Dipsy to find us." Draco explained, apologetically.

"I'll just go and make sure the family all know what's happening." Narcissa said, leaving the room. She had been dying to inform the rest of the family, but Hermione had insisted she stay with her.

"I'm sorry. If I knew this was going to happen I never would have left you." Draco said, holding onto Hermione's hand.

"It's fine. You're here now." Hermione said, wincing as another contraction hit.

"Should I get a healer?" Draco asked, unsure of what to do.

"No." Hermione shook her head. "The medi witch will be back shortly."

For the next five minutes, until the medi witch returned, Draco and Hermione talked about the future and the fact they would be meeting their son soon. When the medi witch returned to the room, she gave Draco a quick smile and set about examining Hermione.

"I'm afraid, it'll still be a while Mrs Malfoy." The medi witch said after she had looked at Hermione.

"Can't you use magic to quicken things up?" Draco asked, he was getting impatient to meet his son.

"We only use magic as a last resort, Mr Malfoy. It's much better for the baby and your wife if the birth is a natural one." The medi witch explained. "I'll be back in ten minutes, buzz if you need anything."

The medi witch swept out of the room, leaving Draco and Hermione alone again.

* * *

"What's taking so long?" Lucius asked, pacing the corridor of St Mungo's nervously. It had been mid-afternoon when Hermione was admitted to hospital and it was now nearly midnight and there was still no sign of the baby.

"Babies appear in their own time." Narcissa tried to soothe her husband. "I'm sure when our grandson is ready he'll put in an appearance."

"Maybe he's waiting for Christmas day. It's only half an hour away." Bella suggested with a breezy smile.

Lucius tutted at his sister-in-law and carried on pacing. Since the end of the war, Bella had almost become a different person. For the first time since he had met the witch, she was genuinely happy with her life and as such had a much softer demeanour.

"Do Draco and Hermione have a name for the baby?" Severus asked, trying to ignore Lucius' nervous pacing.

"Yes. But they won't tell us what." Narcissa said. "I do know they're keeping the Black family tradition of naming children after constellations and stars. Hermione spent ages researching names."

The family sat for another ten minutes before the healers and medi witches piled out of Hermione's room.

"You may go in now." The head healer told the assembled family. "But please don't stay too long. Mrs Malfoy needs her rest."

Narcissa led the way as the family entered Hermione's room, eager to meet the newest Malfoy. They entered the room to find Hermione sitting propped up in bed, a small bundle in her arms and Draco sitting beside her with his arm around her waist.

Narcissa immediately rushed forward, eager to catch a glimpse of her grandson. "He's beautiful." She said, tears falling from her eyes as she gently stroked his tiny face.

One by one the rest of the family came to get a look at the newest part of the extended family. Lucius nodded, gave Draco a pat on the back and Hermione a peck on the cheek. Hermione suspected her supposedly cold-hearted father-in-law had a lump in his throat and didn't trust his voice to hold. Bella came next, making cooing noises at the baby despite insisting she had no maternal emotions. Voldemort came after Bella, he looked unsure of the baby and how he would react to his unusual appearance. It didn't seem to bother the new born as he just stared up at Voldemort as he looked down at the tiny infant. Severus was last to take a look at the newest Malfoy. Looking at the tiny baby he was thrilled that everything had worked out for his godson and his wife.

"So do we find out what our grandson's called?" Narcissa asked once everyone had looked at the tiny bundle cradled safely in Hermione's arms.

"Yes. His name's Scorpius." Draco said, looking at his wife and son. "Scorpius Severus Malfoy."

Severus looked surprised by the use of his name as the baby's middle name. As Draco explained the use of Severus' name, Hermione smiled to herself. It was simple really, without Severus she could never have switched sides to join Draco. And without doing that she would never have been lying here, happily married to Draco and cradling their new born son.

* * *

**A/N - The end, for now. First of all I would like to thank everyone who has supported this story. I was wary of how people would react to a story where Hermione changes sides but everyone has been so supportive and kind. **

**The sequel will be called Desperate Times, and starts one year after the epilogue on Scorpius' first birthday. I will post it as soon as I have made a decent start on it. I have the entire storyline plotted out but at the minute I am currently finishing one of my other stories, Look Behind You. **

**Thank you once again and I hoped you all enjoyed Desperate Measures.**


	37. SEQUEL NOTIFICATION

**Just a quick note to say that the sequel to Desperate Measures has now been posted. It is called Desperate Times and is rated M.**

**Thank you to everyone who has read Desperate Measures and I hope you read and enjoy Desperate Times.**


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